Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea
by Star of Fate
Summary: Nanoha Takamachi used to be an ordinary Earth girl until she discovered that she was a mage and whisked away to St. Hilde Academy of Magic. But never would she have suspected that she would be faced with magical technology, venomous rivals, spiteful teachers, and a conspiracy of the goddess. With everything going on, it's a wonder how she'll finish her homework.
1. The Girl Who Lived

**Hey, everyone! As you may have guessed, I'm new to Fanfiction as an author, but I am a long time reader. After reading a lot of stories written by other people, particularly Nanoha, I've decided to give it a try myself. Now I'm not really good enough to write my own original story, so I'm recreating the famous story with a few differences. I don't plan to copy the whole thing exactly; there will be many noticeable differences including relations, culture, language, and extended action scenes. I don't exact a lot of positive reviews for this, but I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I will.**

**Thank you and have fun reading.**

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**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry potter© J.K. Rowling**  
** Nanoha and other series © Original Creators**

**Chapter One: The Girl Who Lived**

Mr. and Mrs. Henken, of number 9, Erika Road, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you would think to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they would not stand for such nonsense.

Mr. Henken was the senior adviser for a company called Jidōsha, which specialized in manufacturing and selling the latest models of motor vehicles in Uminari City. He was a large and rather rotund man with very little neck, though the size of his large mustache more than compensated for this. Mrs. Henken, on the other hand, was very thin and blonde and had nearly twice as much of a neckline, which she often used to her advantage when leering over the garden fences, spying on their law-abiding neighbors. The Henkens has a small son named Kenta and in their opinion, no child in the world was a good as him.

The Henkens had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Takamachis. Mrs. Takamachi was Mrs. Henken's sister, but they hadn't met for several years. In fact, Mrs. Henken pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were about as opposite of the Henkens that it made them sick just thinking about it. The Henkens shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Takamachis arrived in the street. The Henkens knew that the Takamachis had children; one son and two daughters. Their youngest daughter was around Kenta's age, but they had never even seen her. This girl was another good excuse for keeping the Takamachis away; they didn't want Kenta mixing with a child like that.

When Mr. and Mrs. Henken woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening not just around Japan, but the entire world and beyond. Mr. Henken hummed to himself as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Henken gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Kenta into his high chair.

None of them notice a stray bundle of florescent light fluttering merrily past the window.

At half past eight, Mr. Henken picked up his suitcase, pecked Mrs. Henken on the cheek, and tried to kiss Kenta goodbye but missed, because Kenta was throwing a tantrum and throwing his cereal across the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Henken as he left the house. He got into his car and back of number 9's drive.

It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something unusual – a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Henken didn't realize what he had seen – the he jerked his head around to look again. There was a steel-gray cat standing on the corner of Erika Road, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Henken blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Henken drove around the corner and the up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Erika Road – no, _looking _at the sign; cats can't read maps _or _signs. Mr. Henken gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards the city, he thought nothing except a large order of cars he was hoping to get that day.

But on the edge of the city, cars were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people walking around. People in unusual costumes. Mr. Henken couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothing – the getups you saw on young people these days! He supposed it was just another group of ridiculous cosplayers dressing in whatever new anime was on. He drummed his finger on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of weirdos standing close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Henken was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than him and he was wearing a costume just like the rest of them! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Henken that this was probably some idiotic stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. Traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Henken arrived in the Jidōsha parking lot, his mind back on cars.

Mr. Henken always sat with his back to the window in his office on the eighth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on cars that morning. _He _didn't see the waves of small lights fluttering down the streets, though the people down below did; many of them could have sworn they saw tiny people with wings inside those bundles of light. Mr. Henken, however, had a perfectly normal morning. He yelled at five different people, he made several very important phone calls, and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the street to buy a _mochi _from the sweetshop.

He'd forgotten all about the people in costumes until he passed a group of them next to the sweetshop. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This group was whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single donation jar. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large _mochi _in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"The Takamachi family, that's right, that's what I heard –"

"—yes, their daughter, Nanoha –"

Mr. Henken stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.

He dashed back across the street, hurried up to his office, yelled at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his phone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid. Takamachi wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Takamachi who would name their daughter Nanoha. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his niece _was _called Nanoha. He'd never seen the girl. It might have been Nanami or Natsuki. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Henken; she always got upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if _he _had a sister like that…but all the same, those strange people…

He found it a lot harder to concentrate on cars that afternoon and when he left the building around 5, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.

"Sorry," he grunted, as the man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Henken realized that he was wearing a something resembling a military uniform, but for not any country that he could recognize. He didn't seem all that upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a booming voice that made everyone stare, "Don't be sorry, my good man, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for the Queen of Darkness has been slain at last! Even Machlos like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day!"

The man hugged Mr. Henken around the middle and walked off.

Mr. Henken stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Machlos, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hope before, because he didn't approve of imagination.

As he pulled into the drive way of number 9, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood –was the gray cat he had spotted this morning. It was now sitting on the garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it was wearing a mint-green bandanna around its neck.

"Shoo!" said Mr. Henken loudly.

The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal behavior for a cat? Mr. Henken wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.

Mrs. Henken had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Kenta had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Henken tried to act normally. When Kenta had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report of the evening news:

"And finally, eye-witness accounts everywhere have reported that there been seeing unusual lights flying up and down across the country. Many witnesses who have had a closer view of these phenomenon have claimed that these light are actually little humans with wings carrying letters. Many experts are skeptical to the idea of Tinker Bell running a postal service, but as of yet, there has been no proper explanation for this occurrence." The newscaster allowed himself to grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Ryo with the weather. Going to be anymore showers of fairies tonight, Ryo?"

"Well, Shin," said the weatherman. "I don't know about that, but strange lights aren't the only unusual things happening this evening. Viewers as far as Hokkaido, Kyoto, and Okinawa have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I had promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating New Year's early – it not until next month, people! But I can promise a wet night tonight."

Mr. Henken sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting Stars all over Japan? Faries flying around the day? Mysterious people in costumes all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Takamachi family…

Mrs. Henken came into the living room, carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er – Kurima, dear – you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"

As he had expected, Mrs. Henken looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.

"No," she said sharply. "Why?"

"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Henken mumbled. "Fairies…shooting stars…and there were a lot of strangely-dress people in the city today…"

"_So?_" snapped Mrs. Henken.

"Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…her people."

"Mrs. Henken sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Henken wondered whether he dared tell he had heard the name "Takamachi". He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their daughter – she'd be about Kenta's age now, wouldn't she?"

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Henken stiffly.

"What was her name again? Nanami, was it?"

"Nanoha. Nasty, unnatural name, if you ask me."

"Oh, yes," said Mr. Henken, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes. I quite agree."

He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Henken was in the bathroom, Mr. Henken crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Erika Road as though it were waiting for something.

Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Takamachis. If it did…if it got out that they were related to a bunch of – well, he didn't think he could bear it.

The Henkens got into bed. Mrs. Henken fell asleep quickly but Mr. Henken lay awake, turning all over his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Takamachi family _were _involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Henken. The Takamachi family knew very well what he and Karima thought about them and their kind…he couldn't see how he and Karima could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over – it couldn't affect _them_…

How very wrong he was.

Mr. Henken might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no signs of sleepiness. It was sitting still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Erika Road. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two pigeons flew overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

A woman appeared at the corner the cat had been watching, appearing so suddenly and silently you'd have thought she'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Nothing like this woman had ever been seen on Erika Road. She was young, slender and particularly beautiful with her long, golden hair tied by a royal-purple ribbon. He was wearing what looked to be a modified version of a church's uniform with a dark coat with protective pads on her shoulders tied by a purple ribbon, a sea-green skirt with a black cape held by metal plates, and a pair of metal-plated boots. Her ocean-blue eyes wandered up and down the street, piercing through the veil of darkness. This woman was Carim Gracia.

Carim Gracia didn't seem to realize that she had just arrived in a street where everything from her name to her boots was unwelcome. She was busy rummaging through her pocket, looking for something. But she didn't seem to realize that she was being watched, because she looked up suddenly at the cat, which was staring at her from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse her. She chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."

She found what she was looking for in her pocket. It was a vibrant-orange crystal that mysteriously floated half-an-inch above her palm. She held it up into the air and the nearest street lamp went out with a small pop. She held the crystal to the next lamp and it went out just as the last one had. This patterned repeated twelve times until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching her. If anyone looked out their window now, even the beady-eyed Mrs. Henken, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Carim slipped the Shining Shard back inside her pocket and set off down the road to number 9, where she sat down on the wall next to the cat. She didn't look at it, but after a moment she spoke to it.

"A pleasure seeing you here, Linith-Sensei."

She turned to smile at the grey cat, but it was gone. Instead she was smiling at a woman with short, light-grey hair that equally matched her steel-grey eyes. She was wearing a black suit beneath her pristine-white coat that was partially open around the chest region, her sleeves and shoulders were made of a dark-brown material that was bound by a pair of black bands, and a white hat with a horizontal cross was perched neatly on her head. As she stared back at Carim, she looked distinctly ruffled.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"Linith-Sensei, I've never known a cat to sit so stiffly."

"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Linith-Sensei.

"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."

Linith-Sensei sniffed dignified.

"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful on an non-administrated world, but no – even the Machlos have noticed something going on. It was on the news." She jerked her head back to the Henken's dark living room window. "I heard it. Swarms of fay…shooting stars…well, they're not entirely ignorant. They were bound to notice something. Shooting Stars down in Okinawa – I'll bet that was Jellal Fernandes. He always loves showing off for the Scarlet woman."

"You can't blame them," said Carim gently. "We've had very little to celebrate for many years."

"I know that," said Linith-Sensei irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Machlos clothes, swapping rumors."

She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Carim here, as though hoping she was going to tell her something, but she didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day the Queen of Darkness seems to disappear at last, the Machlos of Earth finally caught on to us. I suppose she really is gone, Carim-Sensei."

"It certainly seems so," said Carim. "We have much to be thankful for. Want a Dango?"

"A _what?_

"A dongo. They're a Japanese sweet that I've taken a liking to, particularly with Anko seasoning."

"No, thank you," said Linith-Sensei sternly, as though she didn't think this was the time for Japanese sweets. "As I say, even if the Queen of Darkness is gone –"

"Linith-Sensei, surely a sensible person like yourself can call her by her name. All this 'Queen of Darkness' nonsense – for years, I've been trying to persuade people to call her by her proper name: Stern the Destructor." Linith-Sensei flinched, but Carim, who had magically pulled out a stick of dango from her pocket, didn't seem to notice. "This whole 'Queen of Darkness' nonsense is just a little overdramatic for my taste. I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Stern's name."

"Of course you wouldn't," said Linith-Sensei, sound half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one the Queen of – oh, all right, _Stern_, was afraid of."

"You flatter me," said Carim calmly. "Stern had powers I will never have."

"Only because you're too – well – _noble _to use them."

"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Doctor Chopper complimented me on my new earmuffs."

Linith-Sensei shot a sharp look at Carim and said, "The fay are nothing next to the _rumors _that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why she disappeared? About what finally stopped her?"

It seemed that Linith-Sensei had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Carim with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Carim told her it was true. Carim, however, was biting down on another dango and did not answer.

"What they are _saying_," she pressed on, "is that last night Stern turned up in Saint's Cradle. She went to find the Takamachi family. The rumors that Shiro, Momoko, Kyoya, and Miyuki are – are – that they're – _dead._"

Carim bowed her head. Linith-Sensei gasped.

"Oh no…Shiro and Momoko…Kyoya…he just started his first year...I just can't believe it…Oh, Carim-Sensei…"

Carim reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know…I know…" she said heavily.

Linith-Sensei's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying she tried to kill the youngest daughter, Nanoha. But – she couldn't. She couldn't kill that little girl. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when she couldn't kill Nanoha, Stern's powers somehow broke – and that's why she's gone."

Carim nodded glumly.

"It's – it's _true?_" faltered Linith-Sensei. "After all she's done…all the people she's killed…she couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding…of all the things to stop her…but how in the name of the Saint King did Nanoha survive?"

"We can only guess," said Carim. "We may never know."

Linith-Sensei pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed her eyes of tears. Carim gave a great sniff as she took a golden watch from her pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch because rather than twelve numbers, there were fifteen symbols written in a language not found on Earth. It must have made sense to Carim because she put it back in her pocket and said, "Schacht is late. I suppose it was her who told you I'd be here, by the way?"

"Yes," said Linith-Sensei. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me _why_ you're here, of all places?"

"I've come to bring Nanoha to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family she has left now."

"You don't mean – you _can't _mean the people who live _here_?" cried Linith-Sensei jumping to her feet and pointing at number 9. Carim-Sensei – You can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got a son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the road, screaming for sweets. Nanoha Takamachi come and live here!"

"It's the best place for her," said Carim firmly. "Her aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to her when she's older. I've written them a letter."

"A letter?" repeated Linith-Sensei faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Carim-Sensei, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her! She'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Nanoha Day in the future – there will be books written about Nanoha – every child in Mid-Childa and beyond will know her name!"

"Exactly," said Carim, looking very serious. "It would be enough to turn any child's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something she won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off she'll be, growing up away from all that until she is ready to take it?"

Linith-Sensei opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how will the girl get here, Carim-Sensei?" She eyed Carim suddenly as though she thought she might pull Nanoha out of the air.

"Schach is bringing her. I asked Crowbel-Sama to give Schach permission to use magic for this journey."

"You think it's – _wise – _to trust Schach with something as important as this?"

"I would trust Schach with my life," said Carim

"I'm not saying her heart isn't in the right place," said Linith-Sensei grudgingly, "but you can't pretend she's not careless. She does tend to – what was that?"

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they look up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked behind them – an orange triangle formed of archaic symbols appeared at the end of the road and a slick-black motorcycle exploded into existence, stopping just short of Carim and Linith-Sensei.

Sitting aboard the behemoth of a motor vehicle was a small but firm-looking woman with short, hot-pink hair with fiery-red eyes that burned with excitement and anxiousness. Much like Carim-Sensei, the woman called Schach wore a traditional black dress of the church with only a short, white cape across her shoulders tied together by a small, red ribbon. In the woman's firm, muscular arms she was holding a bundle of blankets.

"Schach," said Carim, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that large motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Carim-Sensei, ma'am," said Schach, climbing carefully of the motorcycle as she spoke. "A friend of mine let me use it, calls the thing Fenrir for one reason or another. But besides that, I brought her like you asked, ma'am."

"No problems, were there?"

"No, ma'am – house was almost destroyed, but I got her out all right before the Machlos caught wind of anything. She fell asleep right as we were passing through Hueco Mundo."

Carim and Linith-Sensei bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl, fast asleep. Carim gently tucked away a few strands of auburn hair from the child's collarbone, showing them the curiously shape scar, like a five-pointed star.

"Is that where –?" whispered Linith-Sensei.

"Yes," said Carim. "She'll have that scar forever."

"Couldn't you do something, Carim-Sensei?"

Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I once met a map with one just above his left knee that is a perfect map of the Gallean Railway. Well – give her here, Schach – we'd better get this over with."

Carim to Nanoha in her arms and turned towards the Henken's house.

"Could I – could I say good-bye to her, ma'am?" asked Schach. She bent her head over Nanoha gave her a quick, gentle peck upon the child's forehead. Then, suddenly, Schach let out a cry much like a wounded dog.

"Shh!" hissed Linith-Sensei, "you'll wake the Machlos!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Schach, taking a bundle of her cape and burying her face into the material. "But I c-c-can't stand it – Shiro and Momoko dead – almost all their children gone – and little Nanoha having to live with Machlos –"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Schach, or we'll be discovered," Linith-Sensei whispered, patting the young nun gingerly on the shoulder as Carim stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the found door. She laid Nanoha gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of her pocket, tucked it inside Nanoha's blanket, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Schach's shoulders shook, Linith-Sensei blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Carim's eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Well," said Carim finally, "that's that. We have no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"Yeah," said Schach in a very muffled voice, "I'll be taking the bike back to my friend – that person will kill me if I keep it for too long. Good night, Linith-Sensei – Carim-Sensei, ma'am."

Wiping her streaming eyes with her damp cape once more, Schach swung herself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine to life; with a roar it vanished into the orange triangle that appeared down the road.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Linith-Sensei," said Carim, nodding to her. Linith-Sensei blew her nose in reply.

Carim turned and walked back down the road. On the corner she stopped and took out her Shining Shard. The gem glistened for a moment and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Erika Road glowed suddenly orange and she could make out the grey cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. She could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number 9.

Good luck, Nanoha," she murmured. He turned on her heel and with a swish of her robe, she was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Erika Road, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Nanoha Takamachi rolled over inside her blanket without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside her and she slept on, not knowing she was special, not knowing she was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours by Mrs. Henken as she opened the front door to check the mail, nor that she would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by her cousin Kenta…She couldn't know that at this very moment, people across many worlds were holding up their glasses and shouting with cheer:

"To Nanoha Takamachi – the girl who lived!"

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**Like I said before, I'm not expecting a lot of reviewers and probably should expect a few flamers, I just thought it would be a fun project to do, so I'm happy. As you may have noticed, this story is quite a mixture of a few series, so it makes me uncertain whether this is in the right category or not. While I do have plenty of characters planned out, I'm open to suggestions if you want to give them or even a word of advice for a newbie.**

**On another note, if you think this story is gonna play out like you think it will, I have placed a special surprise twist in the final chapter, just to keep things interesting. If you want to find out what it is, please continue reading.**

**Thank you.**


	2. The Shattered Glass

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators **

**Chapter Two: The Broken Glass**

Nearly ten years had passed since the Henkens had woken up to find their niece on the front step, but Erika Road had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front garden and lit up the brass number 9 on the Henken's front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Henken had seen that fateful news report. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked to be a large, pink beach ball wearing different-colored pieces – but Kenta Henken was no longer a baby, and now the photos showed a large, dark-haired boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing video games with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that a little girl lived in the house, too.

Yet Nanoha Takamachi was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Her Aunt Kurima was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Nanoha woke with a start. Her aunt was yelling from the doorway.

"Up!" she screeched, slamming the door behind her. Nanoha heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. She rolled onto her back and tried to remember the dream she had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a giant motorcycle in it, flying through space. She had a funny feeling she'd had the same dream before.

Her aunt was back at her door.

"Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," Said Nanoha.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Kenta's Birthday.

Nanoha groaned.

"What did you say?" her aunt snapped.

"Nothing, nothing…"

Kenta's birthday – how could she have forgotten? Nanoha got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. She found a pair under her bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Nanoha was the dusty corner of the basement was full of them, and that was where she slept.

When she was dressed she went up the stairs and down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all of Kenta's birthday presents. It looked as though Kenta had gotten the new game system he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Kent wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Nanoha, as Kenta was very fat and hated exercise – unless of course it involved punching somebody. Kenta's favorite punching bag was Nanoha, and had no particular problem with hitting a girl. It is only fortunate that he didn't often catch her. Nanoha didn't look it, but she was very fast.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in the basement, but Nanoha had always been small for her age. She looked even smaller and skinny than she was because all she had to wear old clothes of Kenta's, and Kenta was about four times bigger than she was. Nanoha had a round, babyish face, skinny arms and legs, short auburn hair in pigtails, and bright blue eyes. The only thing Nanoha really liked about her own appearance was the deep scar located over her sternum that was shaped like a five-pointed star. She had it as long as she could remember, and the first question she could ever remember asking her Aunt Kurima was how she had gotten it.

"In the car crash when your family died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."

_Don't ask questions _– that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Henkens.

Uncle Kenji entered the kitchen as Nanoha was turning over the bacon.

"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a good morning greeting.

About once a week, Uncle Kenji looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Nanoha needed a haircut. Nanoha must have had more haircuts that the rest of the children in her class together, but it made no difference, her hair simply grew that way – all over the place. After so many attempts to tame it, Uncle Kenji finally gave in and bought Nanoha the cheapest pair of ribbons he could find to keep her wild hair tamed.

Nanoha was frying eggs by the time Kenta arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Kenta looked a lot like Uncle Kenji. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and think black hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Kurima often said Kenta looked like a baby angle – Nanoha often said that Kenta looked like a pig in a wig.

Nanoha put the plates of eggs and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Kenta, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.

"Thirty-Six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Yumi's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Kents, going red in the face. Nanoha, who could see a huge Kenta tantrum in the making, began wolfing down her feeble breakfast as fast as possible in case Kenta decided to flip the table.

Aunt Kurima obviously sensed the danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another _two _presents while we're out today. How's that, darling? _Two _more presents. Is that all right?"

Kenta thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…"

"Thirty-nine, darling," said Aunt Kurima.

"Oh." Kenta sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest present. "All right then."

Uncle Kenji chuckled. "Little guy wants his money's worth, just like his old man. That a boy, Kenta!" He ruffled Kenta's hair.

At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Kurima went to answer it while Nanoha and Uncle Kenji watched Kenta unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new video games, and a DVR. He was ripping the paper of a golden wristwatch when Aunt Kurima came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

"Bad news, Kenji," she said. "Ms. Uzuki's broken her leg. She can't take her." She jerked her head in Nanoha's direction.

Kenta's mouth fell open in horror, but Nanoha's heart gave a leap. Every year on Kenta's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to theme parks, family restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Nanoha was left behind with Yūgao Uzuki, a district police captain who lived two streets away. Nanoha was not a fan of Ms. Uzuki. Her whole house was stacked with police reports that she could barely walk two step without bumping into something, every time she did, Ms. Uzuki was give her a lecture on responsibility and paying attention.

"Now what?" said Aunt Kurima, looking furiously at Nanoha as though she had planned this. Nanoha knew she ought to feel sorry that Ms. Uzuki had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when she reminded herself that it would be a whole year before she had to help sort through reports on recent murder cases.

"We could call Yumi," Uncle Kenji suggested

"Don't be silly, Kenji she hates the girl."

The Henkens often spoke about Nanoha like this, as though she wasn't there – or rather, as though she was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug."

"What about what's-her-name, your friend – Shima?"

"On vacation in Kyushu," snapped Aunt Kurima.

"You could just leave me here," Nanoha put in hopefully (she'd be able to watch what she wanted on television for a change and maybe even play on Kenta's game system).

Aunt Kurima looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"I won't blow up the house," said Nanoha, but they weren't listening.

"I suppose we could take her to the zoo," said Aunt Kurima slowly, "…and leave her in the car…"

"That car's new, she's not sitting in it alone…"

Kenta began crying loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying – it had been years since he'd really cried – but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.

"My poor baby, don't cry, Mama won't let her spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I…don't…want…her…t-t-to come!" Kenta yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "She always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Nanoha a nasty through the gap in his mother's arms.

Just then, the doorbell rang – "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Kurima frantically – and a moment later, Kenta's best friend, Toshi Managa, walked in with his mother. Toshi was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Kenta hit them. Kenta stopped pretending to cry at once.

Half an hour later, Nanoha, who couldn't believe her luck, was sitting in the back of the Henken's car with Kenta and Toshi, on the way to the zoo for the first time in her life. Her aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with her, but before they left, Uncle Kenji had taken Nanoha aside.

"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Nanoha's, "I'm warning you right now, girl – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be locked in the basement from now until Christmas."

"I'm not going to do anything," said Nanoha, "honestly…"

But Uncle Kenji didn't believe her. No one ever did.

The problem was, strange things often happened around Nanoha and it was just no good the Henkens she didn't make them happen.

Once, Aunt Kurima, tired of Nanoha coming back from the barbers looking as though she hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut her hair so short she looked like she had been recruited into the American Army. Kenta had laughed himself silly at Nanoha, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where she was already laughed at for her baggy clothes and homely appearance. Next morning, however, she had gotten up to find her hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Kurima had sheared it off. She had been locked in the basement for a week for this, even though she had tried to explain that she _couldn't _how it had grown back so quickly.

Another time, Aunt Kurima had been trying to force her into a horrifying old sweater of Kenta's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over her head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Nanoha. Aunt Kurima had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to her great relief, Nanoha wasn't punished.

On the other hand, she'd gotten in big trouble for being found on the roof of the school cafeteria. Kenta's gang had been chasing her as usual when, as much to Nanoha's surprise as anyone else's, there she was sitting on the edge of the roof. The Henkens had received a very angry phone call from Nanoha's headmistress telling them Nanoha had been climbing school buildings. But all she had tried to do (as she shouted at Uncle Kenji through the locked door of the basement) was jump behind the trash cans outside the cafeteria doors. Nanoha supposed that the wind must have caught her in mid-jump.

But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Kenta and Toshi to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, the basement, or Ms. Uzuki's paper-littered living room.

While he drove, Uncle Kenji complained to Aunt Kurima. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Nanoha, the government, Nanoha, the bank, and Nanoha were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.

"…roar along like maniacs, these little criminals," he said as a motorcycle overtook them.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Nanoha, remembering suddenly, "it was flying through space."

Uncle Kenji nearly crashed into the car in front of them. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Nanoha, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY! ESPECIALLY NOT IN SPACE!"

Kenta and Toshi sniggered

"I know they don't," said Nanoha. "It was only a dream."

But she wished she hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Henkens hated even more than her asking questions, it was her talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter it was in a dream or even an anime – they seemed to think she might get dangerous ideas.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Henkens had bought Kenta and Toshi large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Nanoha what she wanted before they could hurry her away, they bought her a cheap lemon pop. It wasn't bad, either, Nanoha thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Kenta, except it probably smarter.

Nanoha had the best morning she'd had in a long time. She was careful to walk a little away apart from the Henkens so that Kenta and Toshi, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting her. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Kenta had a tantrum because his _Botamochi _didn't have enough _azuki _paste on tope, Uncle Kenji bought him another one and Nanoha was allowed to finish the first.

Nanoha felt, afterwards, that she should have known it was all too good to last

After lunch they went to the nocturnal house. It was cool with dark in there, with window having minimal lightning along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of nocturnal animals from spotted owls to hairy spiders were settled on large branches and rocks. While people stayed close to the lights to see better, Nanoha had always preferred to stay in the dark for as long as she could remember – perhaps it was because she grew up in a basement her whole life or found it easier to get away from Kenta.

Kenta and Toshi wanted to see the colony of vampire bats that were hanging upside down on their branches, waiting for them to flap around or try to bite someone – but at the moment, they didn't looked to be in the mood. In fact, they were fast asleep, being that it was still day time.

Kenta stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the largest leathery mammal in the tank.

"Make them move," he whined at his father. Uncle Kenji tapped on the glass, but none of the bats even twitched.

"Do it again," Kenta ordered. Uncle Kenji rapped the glass thickly with his knuckles, but the mammals just snoozed on.

"This is boring," Kenta moaned. He shuffled away.

Nanoha moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the winged animals. She have been surprised if they away dropped one by one from boredom itself – every day filled with stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb them all day long. It was worse than having a small corner of the basement for a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Kurima screaming down the stairs to wake you up; at least she got to visit the rest of the house.

The largest bat in the colony suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it hoisted itself only the branch and crawled closer until its eyes was on level with Nanoha's, staring at her. Nanoha stared back. Then she looked quickly around to see if anyone else was watching. They weren't. She looked back at the bat and moved close until her nose was practically touching the glass.

The bat turned its head down the dimly lit corridor to Uncle Kenji and Kenta, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Nanoha a look that plainly said: _"We get that all the time._"

"I know," Nanoha murmured through the glass, wondering if its larges ears could hear what she was saying. "It must be really annoying."

The bat nodded vigorously.

"Where do you come from, anyway?" Nanoha asked.

The bat jerked one of its leathery wings to the little sign beneath the glass. Nanoha peered at it: Vampire Bat, Argentina.

"Was it nice there?"

The vampire bat jabbed its wing at the sign again and Nanoha read on: All specimens were bred in captivity. "Oh, I see – so you've never been to Argentina?"

As the bat shook its head, a deafening shout behind Nanoha made both of them jump and the other bats to stir. "KENTA! MR. HENKEN! COME AND LOOK AT THIS BAT! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE _WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Kenta came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Nanoha in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Nanoha fell hard at the concrete floor. As she sat up and glared at the two, her vision was literally red for the briefest moment before it was normal again. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Kenta and Toshi were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

Nanoha gasped in shock; the glass in front of the vampire bat's tank had shattered into a thousand pieces. The bat colony, fully awake, stretched their wings rapidly, taking flight into the air. People throughout the nocturnal house screamed and started running for the exits through the clouds of flying rodents.

But as the vampire bats scratched and flapped everyone out of the way, they seemed to purposely fly around Nanoha. She could have sworn one of them spoke in a low, hissing voice in a language that she didn't understand

"Gracias por la liberación, oscuro."

The keeper of the nocturnal house was in shock.

"But the glass," he kept saying, "what happened to the glass?"

The zoo director himself made Aunt Kurima a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Kenta and Toshi could only gibber. As far as Nanoha had seen, the bats hadn't done anything except scratch bits of their clothes as they flapped by, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Kenji's car, Kenta was telling them how they had tried to suck out his blood, while Toshi was swearing they had tried to claw his face off. But worst of all, to Nanoha at least, was Toshi calming down enough to say, "Nanoha was talking to them, weren't you, Nanoha?"

Uncle Kenji waited until Toshi was safely out of the house before starting on Nanoha. He was so angry, he could hardly speak. He manged to say, "Go – basement – stay – no meals," before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Kurima had to run and get him a large bottle of _sake_.

* * *

Nanoha lay in her dark corner of the basement much later, wishing she had a watch. She didn't know what time it was and she couldn't be sure the Henkens were asleep yet. Until they were, she couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.

She'd lived with the Henkens almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as she could remember, ever since she'd been a baby and her family had died in that car crash. She couldn't remember being in a car when her family died. Sometimes, when she strained her memory during long hours in the basement, she came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of vermillion and a burning pain in her chest. This, she supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't imagine where all the vermillion light came from. She couldn't remember her family at all; her mother, father, bother, and sister were all a blur. Her aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course she was forbidden to ask questions. There were no pictures of them in the house.

When she had been younger, Nanoha dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take her away, but it never happened; the Henkens were her only family. Yet sometimes, she thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know her. Very strange strangers they were, too. A blue-haired man with a red tattoo on his face had bowed to her once while out shopping with Aunt Kurima and Kenta. After Asking Nanoha furiously if she knew the man, Aunt Kurima had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at her on a bus once. A bald man in a very long purple coat had had actually shaken her hand in the street the other day and then he walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Nanoha tried to get a closer look.

At school, Nanoha had no one. Everybody knew that Kenta's gang hated that weird Nanoha Takamachi in her baggy class and unkempt hair, and nobody liked to disagree with Kenta's gang.

* * *

**And that ends chapter 2. I am proud to say that the story has started to show some divergence from the original story, but not by much. Trush me, it will get better along the way. And concerning Nanoha's interaction with the bats: no, she will not be a bat-mouth or batgirl or whatever. Her powers are completely different, but you'll have to wait until Nanoha and the Tomb of Shadows to find out. **


	3. The Letters From No One

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators **

**Note: **I would kindly wish to ask that readers actually finish the chapter before making unnecessary comments.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Letters from No One**

The escape of the Argentina vampire bats had earned Nanoha her longest punishment to date. By the time she was allowed out of the basement again, the academic year had ended for the spring holidays and Kenta had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down Captain Uzuki as she crossed Erika Road on her crutches.

Nanoha was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Kenta's gang, who visited the house every single day. Toshi, Taro, Ryo, and Akira were all big and stupid, but as Kenta was the biggest and stupidest of them all, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Kenta's favorite sport: Nanoha Hunting.

This is why Nanoha spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the spring holidays, where she could see a tiny ray of hope. When April came she would be going off to junior high school, and, for the first time in her life, she wouldn't be with Kenta. Kenta had been accepted at Uncle Kenji's old private school, _Chiben Gakuen_ in the Nara Prefecture. Toshi Managa was going there too. Nanoha, on the other hand, was going to_ Saitei Academy_, the local public school. Kenta thought this was very funny.

"They stuff people's head down the toilet the first day at _Saitei_," he told Nanoha. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"

"That doesn't sound like a good idea," said Nanoha. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it could get sick." Then she booked it, before Kenta could work out what she'd just said.

One day in March, Aunt Kurima took Kenta to Shinjuku to buy his _Chiben Gakuen_ uniform, leaving Nanoha at Captain Uzuki's. Captain Uzuki wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out that she had broken her leg tripping over one of her piles of police reports, and she had taken it as a sign to keep her home tidy from now one. She let Nanoha watch television and gave her a slice of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it lying around for years.

That evening, Kenta paraded around the living room for the family in his brand new uniform. Students at _Chiben Gakuen _wore navy-blue _gakuran _that seemed awfully tight around Kenta with the school crest pressed on the left breast pocket. For whatever reason that was beyond Nanoha, Uncle Kenji had gotten Kenta something he liked to call a branding stick. He said it was supposed to be good training for later life, but Nanoha just saw it as another weapon at Kenta's disposal.

As he looked Kenta in his new _gakuran_, Uncle Kenji said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Kurima burst into tears and said that she couldn't believe her it was her little angel, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Nanoha didn't trust herself to speak. She feared that one of the buttons on Kenta's uniform would pop the moment she opened her mouth.

* * *

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Nanoha went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. She went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.

"What's this?" she asked Aunt Kurima. Her lips tightened as they always did every time she dared to ask a question.

"Your new school uniform," she said.

Nanoha looked at the tub again.

"Oh," she said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Kurima. "I'm dyeing some old clothes I found at a rummage sale gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I'm finished."

Nanoha seriously doubted this, but thought it was best not to argue. She sat down at the table and tried not to think about how she was going to look on her first day at _Seitei Academy_, wearing ratty old clothes that were three time too big for her.

Kenta and Uncle Kenji came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell coming from Nanoha's new uniform. Uncle Kenji opened his newspaper as usual and Kenta snapped her branding stick, which he seemed to carry everywhere now, on the table.

They heard the click of the mail slot and the flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Kenta," said Uncle Kenta from behind his paper.

"Make Nanoha get it."

"Get the mail, Nanoha."

"Make Kenta get it."

"Poke her with your branding stick, Kenta."

Nanoha dodged the branding stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Kenji's sister Yumi, who was vacationing on the Izu Islands, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and – _a letter for Nanoha._

Nanoha picked it up and stared at it, her heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in her whole life, had written to her. Who would? She had no friends, no other relatives – she didn't belong to the library, so she'd never even gotten an angry letter asking for their books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake

_**Ms. T. Nanoha  
The Basement,  
9 Erika Road, Uminari City  
Tokyo Prefecture, **_**Kantō**** Region**

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of pristine-white parchment, and the address was written in vibrant-red ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, her hands trembling, Nanoha saw a golden-yellow seal bearing a coat of arms; an upside-down triangle made of four connecting circles – the three corners containing abstract symbols and the central circle inscribed with a cross.

"Hurry up, girl!" shouted Uncle Kenji from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" he chuckled at his own joke.

Nanoha went back to the kitchen, still staring at her letter. She handed Uncle Kenji the bill and postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the unusual letter. Uncle Kenji ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.

"Oh, Yumi's sick," he informed Aunt Kurima. "Ate some bad seafood again…"

"Dad!" said Kenta suddenly. "Dad, Nanoha's got something!"

Nanoha was on the point of unfolding her letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of her hands by Uncle Kenji.

"That's mine!" said Nanoha, trying to snatch it back.

"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Kenji, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. Within seconds it was grayish-white like he was about to keel over soon.

"K-K-Kurima!" ha gasped.

Kenta tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Kenji held it high out of his reach. Aunt Kurima took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked like as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

"Kenji! Oh dear _Kami_ – Kenji!"

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Nanoha and Kenta were still in the room. Kenta wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his branding stick.

"I want to read it," he said loudly.

"_I _want to read it," said Nanoha furiously, "it is_ mine_ after all."

"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Kenji, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.

Nanoha didn't move

"I WANT MY LETTER!" she shouted.

"Let _me _see it!" demanded Kenta.

"OUT!" roared Uncle Kenji, and he took both Nanoha and Kenta by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Nanoha and Kenta promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Kenta won, so Nanoha lay flat on her stomach to listen at the crack between the door and floor.

"Kenji," Aunt Kurima was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address – how could they possibly know where she sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching – spying – might be following us," muttered Uncle Kenji wildly.

"But what should we do, Kenji? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want –"

Nanoha could see Uncle Kenji's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.

"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…yes, that's best…we won't do anything…"

"But –"

"I'm not having another one in the house, Kurima! Didn't we swear that when we took her in, we'd put a stop to all this dangerous nonsense?"

* * *

That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Kenji did something he had never done before; he visited Nanoha in the basement.

"Where's my letter?" said Nanoha, the moment Uncle Kenji reached the bottom step and took a seat on one of the many crates in the basement. "Who's writing to me?"

"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Kenji shortly. "I have burned it."

"It was _not _a mistake," said Nanoha angrily, "it had my room in the basement on it."

"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Kenji, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked very painful. "Er – yes, Nanoha – about this basement. Your aunt and I have been thinking…you're getting a little big for it…and it's really not healthy…we think it might be nice if you moved into Kenta's second bedroom."

"Why?" said Nanoha.

"Don't ask questions!" snapped Uncle Kenji. "Take your stuff upstairs, now."

The Henken's house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima, one for visitors (usually Uncle Kenji's sister, Yumi), one where Kenta slept, and one where Kenta kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Nanoha one trip upstairs to move everything she owned from the basement to this room. She sat down on the bed and stared around her. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Kenta had once driven over the neighbor's dog; in the corner was Kenta's first ever television set, which he had put his foot through when his favorite program was cancelled; there was a large bird cage, which once held a parrot that Kenta had traded for a real air rifle, which was on a shelf with the end all bent because Kenta had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.

From downstairs came the sound of Kenta bawling at his mother, "I don't _want _her in there…I _need _that room…make her get out…"

Nanoha sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday, she'd had given anything to be up here. Today she'd rather be back in the basement with that letter than up here without it.

* * *

Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Kenta was in shock. He had screamed, whacked his father with his branding stick, threw up on purpose, kicked his mother, and had thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Nanoha was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing she had opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima kept looking at each other darkly.

When the mail arrived, Uncle Kenji, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Nanoha, made Kenta go and get it. They heard him banging things with his branding stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Ms. T. Nanoha, The Smallest Bedroom, 9 Erika Road –'"

Nanoha and Uncle Kenji stared down one enough for a split moment until, with a strangled cry, Uncle Kenji leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Nanoha right behind him. Uncle Kenji had to wrestle Kenta to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Nanohja had grabbed Uncle Kenji around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the branding stick, Uncle Kenji straightened up, gasping for breath, with Nanoha's letter clutched in his hand.

"Go to the basement – I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Nanoha. "Kenta – go – just go."

Nanoha walked round and round her new room. Someone knew she had moved out of the basement and they seemed know she hadn't received her first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time she'd make sure they didn't fail. She had a plan.

* * *

The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Nanoha turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Henkens. He strolled downstairs without turning on any of the lights. She was going to wait for the mailman on the corner of Erika Road and get the letters for number 9 first. Her heart hammered as she crept across the dark hall towards the front door –

"AAAAARRRGH!"

Nanoha leapt into the air; he'd had stepped on something big and squashy on the doormat – something _alive_!

Lights clicked on upstairs and to her horror Nanoha realized that the big, squashy something had been her uncle's face. Uncle Kenji had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Nanoha didn't do exactly what she had been trying to do. He shouted at Nanoha for about half-an-hour and then told her to go and make a cup of tea. Nanoha shuffled miserably into the kitchen and by the time she got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Kenji's lap. Nanoha could see three letters addressed in bright-red ink.

"I want –" she began, but Uncle Kenji was tearing the letters to pieces before her eyes.

Uncle Kenji didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed the mail slot.

"See," he explained to Aunt Kurima through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't _deliver _them they'll just give up."

"I'm not sure that'll work, Kenji."

"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Kurima, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Kenji, trying to knock in a nail with a piece of _Tempura _Aunt Kurima had just brought him.

* * *

On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Nanoha. Since they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few were even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.

Uncle Kenji had stayed home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up all the cracks around the front and back doors so that no one could go out. He hummed to himself loudly as he worked, and jumped at even the smallest noises.

* * *

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Nanoha had found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs Aunt Kurima had purchased from the supermarket after having to enter the house through the living room window. While Uncle Kenji made furious phone calls to the post office and the dairy company trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Kurima shredded the letters in the blender and garbage disposal.

"Who on earth wants to talk to _you _so badly?" Kenta asked Nanoha in amazement.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Uncle Kenji sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather sick, but ultimate please.

"No mail on Sunday," he reminded them cheerfully as he buttered his newspaper unknowingly. "Best day of the week in my opinion. Wouldn't have to deal with those damn letters today –"

Without a word of warning, something came whizzing down the chimney and glided into the kitchen as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Uncle Kenji turned in horror. Not a moment later, thirty to forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Henkens ducked, but Nanoha leapt into the air trying to catch one –"

"Out! OUT!"

Uncle Kenji seized Nanoha around the waist and threw her into the hall. When Aunt Kurima and Kenta had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Kenji slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That does it," said Uncle Kenji, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared to argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched through way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding towards the highway. Kenta was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him over the head for holding them up while he tried to pack up his television DVD player, and computer in his sports bag.

They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Kurima didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Kenji would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.

"Shake 'em off…shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.

They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall, Kenta was howling. He had never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he had missed five shows he had wanted to watch, and he had never gone so long without blowing something up on his gaming systems.

Uncle Kenji had stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Kenta and Nanoha shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Kenta snored but Nanoha stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…

* * *

They ate stale cornflakes and buttered toast for breakfast the next morning. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.

"Excuse me, but is one of you Ms. T. Nanoha? I've got about a hundred of these letters waiting for you at the front desk."

She held up the letter so they could read the red ink address:

_**Ms. T. Nanoha  
Room 19  
Hotel Augusta, **__**Kōtō**__**  
Tokyo Prefecture, **__**Kantō**__** Region**_

Nanoha made a grab for the letter but Uncle Kenji knocked her hand out of the way. The woman stared.

"I'll take them," said Uncle Kenji, standing up and following her form the dining room.

* * *

"Wouldn't it just be better to go home, dear?" Aunt Kurima suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Kenji didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.

"Dad's gone insane, hasn't he?" Kenta asked Aunt Kurima dully late that afternoon. Uncle Kenji had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.

It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Kenta sniveled.

"It's Monday," he told his mother. "Menma Shippuuden is on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a _television_."

Monday. This reminded Nanoha of something. If it _was _Monday – and you could usually count on Kenta to know the days of the week, because of television – then tomorrow, March 15th, was Nanoha's eleventh birthday. Of course, her birthdays were never exactly fun – last year, the Henkens had given her a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Kenji's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day.

Uncle Kenji was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Kurima when she asked what he had bought.

"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

It was cold outside the car. Uncle Kennji was pointing at what looked like a very large rock way out in the middle of the ocean. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain; there was no television in there.

"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Kenji gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below.

"I've already got us something to eat," said Uncle Kenji, "so all aboard!"

It was freezing in the boat. Icy ocean spray and rain crept down on their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Kenji, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly like seaweed – not the good kind – the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.

Uncle Kenji's idea of food turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chips bag just smoked and shriveled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.

He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in the middle of a storm to deliver a letter. Nanoha privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer her up at all.

As night fell, the promised storm blew around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Kurima found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made a bed for Kenta on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Kenji went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Nanoha was left to find the softest bit of floor she could and curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.

The storm ragged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Nanoha couldn't sleep. She shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, her stomach rumbling with hunger. Kenta's snores were drowned out by the low rolls of thunder that near midnight. The lighted numbers of Kenta's digital watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Nanoha that March 15th was only ten minutes away – she'd be eleven very soon. She lay and watched her birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Henkens would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.

Five minutes to go. Nanoha heard something creaking outside. She hoped the roof wasn't going to collapse on them, although it might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Erika Road would be so full of letters when they got back that she'd be able to steal one somehow.

Three minutes to go. Was that the water, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that strange crunching noise. Was the rock crumbling into the ocean?

One minute and she'd be eleven. Thirty seconds…twenty…ten…nine – maybe she'd wake Kenta up just to annoy him – three…two…one…

**BOOM!**

The whole shack shivered and Nanoha sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come it.

* * *

**That's the end of chapter three, which means we are getting closer to the real meat of the story and where things will start to diverge more than they already have. Next chapter is the reintroduction of the main support character and then the next chapter is the trip to the central world of the story: Mid-Childa. So stay tuned for the next installment very soon.**


	4. Lady of the Saint Church

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Lady of the Saint Church**

**BOOM!** They knocked again. Kenta jerked awake

"Stop blow holes in my ship!" he said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Kenji came skidding into the room. He was holding a shotgun in his hands – now they knew what had been in that long, thin package he had brought with them.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I'm warning you – I'm armed and loaded!"

There was a pause. Then –

**SMASH!**

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. Half excepting to see a giant, shaggy-haired brute of a man, the one standing at the doorway barely came up to Aunt Kurima's shoulders. She had short, hot-pink hair with fiery-red eyes and dressed strangely as if she had just come from church. Maybe she was finally here to exorcise the Henkens, Nanoha thought privately to herself.

"Sorry about that – sometimes I forget my own strength," said the church woman; she stepped into the hut, bent down, picking up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. She turned to look at them all. "I wouldn't hurt to make a cup of tea, now would it? It's not been an easy journey – tracking you down."

She strode over to the sofa where Kenta sat frozen with fear.

"Move over, you great lump of fat," said the stranger.

Kenta squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Kenji.

"There you are, Nanoha!" said the nun.

Nanoha dared herself to look the woman in the eyes, surprised to see her hard expression relaxed into a warm smile.

"Last time I saw you, you were only a baby," said the nun. "You look exactly like your mother when she was little, but I can see can see a little bit of your father in your too."

Uncle Kenji made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, ma'am!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, dry up, Henken, you old prune," said the nun; she extended two finger on her right hand and swiped across the air toward Uncle Kenji and his shotgun. Not a moment later, the barrel of the rifle was split directly down the middle – the pieces clattered loudly on the floor.

Uncle Kenji made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

Anyway – Nanoha," said the nun, turn her back on the Henkens, "a very happy birthday to you. I got something for you here – I'm afraid I might have sat on it at some point, but it'll taste just the same.

Though as impossible at may have seemed, the church woman reached under the cape of her uniform and pulled a slightly squashed box. Nanoha opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with _Happy Birthday_ written on it in pink icing.

Nanoha looked up at the church nun. She meant to say thank you, but her words got lost on the way to her mouth, and what she said instead was, "Who are you?"

The nun chuckled.

"That's true, I haven't introduced myself yet. Schach Nouera, Lady of the Saint Church and Gamekeeper of St. Hilde."

She held out her hand and shook Nanoha's whole arm.

"What about that tea then, eh?" she said, rubbing her hands together. "Though I wouldn't say no to something a little stronger if you got any."

Her eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and snorted. She bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what she was doing but when she drew back a second later, extinguishing a burned matchstick, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Nanoha felt the warmth wash over her as though she had sunk into a hot bath.

The church nun sat back on the sofa, which was sagging after Kenta had slept on it, and began taking all sorts of things out from under her cape that should have been impossible: a steam kettle, a squashy packages of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that she took a swig from ("Don't tell anyone, all right") before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sounds and smells of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the nun was working, but as she slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Kenta fidgeted a little. Uncle Kenji said sharply, "Don't touch anything she gives you, Kenta."

The nun chuckled darkly.

"Your enormous lump of a son doesn't need fattening anymore, Henken, don't worry."

She passed the sausages to Nanoha, who was so hungry she had never tasted anything so wonderful, but she still couldn't take her eyes off the church woman. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, she said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

The church nun took a great gulp of tea and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Call me Schach," she said, "everyone does. And like I told you, I am a Lady of the Saint Church as well as the Gamekeeper at St. Hilde – you'd know all about St. Hilde, of course."

"Er – no," said Nanoha.

Schach looked shocked.

"Sorry," Nanoha said quickly.

"_Sorry?_" barked Schach, turning to stare at the Henkens, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them that should be sorry! I knew you weren't getting you letters but I never thought you wouldn't even know about St. Hilde, for crying out loud! Didn't you ever wonder where your parents learned it all?"

"Learned what?" asked Nanoha.

"LEARNED WHAT?" Schach thundered. "Now wait just one second!

She leapt to her feet and turned to the Uncle Kenji in a fit of rage. The Henkens were cowering against the wall.

"Do you mean to tell me," she growled at the Henkens, "that this girl – this girl! – doesn't know anything about – about ANYTHING?"

Nanoha thought that was going a bit far. She had been to school, after all, and her grades weren't bad.

"I know _some _things," she said. "I have decent grades in most subjects and I'm the best in my class when it comes to math."

"While I agree that math is very important," said Schach, waving her hand in exasperation. "But you still don't know a thing about _our _world. _Your _world. _My _World. _Your parent's world._"

"What world?"

Schach looked as if she was about to explode.

"HENKEN!" she boomed

Uncle Kenji, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Schach stared wildly at Nanoha.

"But you must know about you mother, father, brother, and sister," she said. "I mean, they're _famous_. You're _famous_."

"What? My – my family wasn't famous for anything, were they?"

"You don't know…you don't know…" Schach ran her fingers through her hair, fixing Nanoha with a bewildered stare. "you mean to say you don't even know what you _are_?" she finally said.

Uncle Kenji suddenly found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, ma'am! I forbid you to tell the girl anything!"

A braver man than Kenji Henken would have quailed under the furious stare Schach was now giving him. Though not seeming very impressive in size of build, the pieces of the shotgun lying of the floor served as a good example. When Schach spoke, her every syllable trembled with rage.

"You never told her? Never told her what as in the letter Carim-Sama left for her. I was there! I saw Carim-Sama leave it, Henken! And you've been keeping it from her all these years?"

"Keeping _what _from me?" said Nanoha eagerly.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Kenji in panic.

Aunt Kurima gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go jump in a Sarlacc pit, the both of you." Said Schach. "Nanoha – you're a mage."

There was a silence inside the hut. Only the ocean and the whistling wind could be heard.

"I'm a _what_?" gasped Nanoha

"A mage, of course," said Schach, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned ad sank even lower – it really was an old couch, "and a damn good one, I'd bet, once you've had a few years of training under your belt. With parents and siblings like yours, what else would you expect? And I think it'd about time you got to read your letter."

Nanoha stretched out her hand at last to take the white envelope, addressed in vibrant-red to Ms. T. Nanoha, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Pacific Ocean. She pulled out the letter and read:

**St. Hilde Academy of Magic**

**Headmistress: Carim Gracia**  
(_Order of the Saint Church, Level One, Grand Sorceress, Chief Witch,  
Supreme Medium, International Confederacy of Mages)_

**Dear Ms. Takamachi**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to St. Hilde Academy of Magic.  
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on April 1. We await your Fay no later than March 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Linith Nisei,  
**_**Deputy Headmistress**_

Questions exploded inside Nanoha's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes she stammered, "What does it mean, they await my Fay?"

"By the Saint King, I almost forgot!" said Schach, clapping a hand to her with enough force to knock over a car, and once again reached under her impossibly spacious cape. From the hidden space of her church uniform she pulled out a pen, a sheet of paper, and – to Nanoha's amazement – a tiny girl that fit into her palm. The pixie-sized creature looked distinctly human with a cascade of rich-blue hair in a green-scale dress with feathery wings sprouting from her exposed back. "This is my Fay, Wendy. Wendy, I need you to deliver a letter for me. Think you can do it?"

The tiny Fay squeaked and nodded in a way that Nanoha found absolutely adorable. With her tongue between her teeth Schach scribbled a note that Nanoha could read upside down:

_**Dear Carim-Sama,  
Given Nanoha her letter.  
Taking her to buy her things tomorrow.  
Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.  
Schach**_

Schach folded the letter into a neat little square, handed it off to Wendy, who grasped it tightly against her tiny chest, went to the door, and threw Wendy out into the storm. Though she was small and frail looking, Wendy didn't seem the least bothered by the heavy winds and she flapped her feathery wings towards the gray clouds. Schach came back and sat down as though this was as normal as texting a friend.

Nanoha realized her mouth was open and closed it quickly.

"Where was I?" said Scahch, but at the moment, Uncle Kenji, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"She's not going," he said.

Schach grunted.

I'd like to see a great Machlos like you try to stop her," she said.

"A what?" said Nanoha interested.

"A Machlos," said Schach, "it's a word that means 'powerless' back on our world. We generally use it to refer to sentient, non-magic creatures in the universe. And it's your bad luck that you grew up in a family of the biggest bunch of Machlos in recorded history."

"We swore when we took her in we'd put a stop to that trash," said Uncle Kenji, "we swore we'd stamp it out of her! A mage indeed!"

"You _knew_?" said Nanoha. "You _knew _I'm a – a magic?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Kurima suddenly. "_Knew!_ Of course we knew! How could you not be, my bitch of a sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that _school _– and came home every vacation with her pockets full of strange gadgets, blowing holes in the backyard. I was the only one who saw her for what she really was – a freak! But mother and father, oh no, it was Momoko this and Momoko that, they were proud of having a mage in the family!"

She stopped to draw breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"And then she met that Takamachi and they left and got married and had children, and of course I knew you'd be the same, just as strange, just as – as – _abnormal_ – and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Nanoha had gone very white. As soon as she found her voice she said, blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" roared Schach, jumping up so angrily that the Henkens scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Shiro and the Takamachi family? It's outrageous! It's impossible! Nanoha Takamachi not knowing her own story when every kid from Mid-Childa and back knows her name!"

"But why? What happened?" Nanoha asked urgently.

The anger faded from Schach's face. She looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," she said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Carim-Sama told me there might be some trouble getting a hold of you, how much you didn't know. Ah, Nanoha, I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you – but someone's gotta – you can't go off to St. Hilde without knowing."

She threw a dirty look to the Henkens.

"Well, it's best you know as much as I can tell you – mind you, I can't tell you everything, it's a great mystery, parts of it…"

She sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "First off, you should know that weren't born on Earth. You and I come from a dimension called Mid-Childa – a world where magic and technology have come together as one. Mid-Childa is called the capital of the magical world because it is the center of all techno-magic advances and had bred the most mages of all worlds. It is very rare for any non-administrated world to produce humans who are magically gifted."

"What's a non-administrated world?" asked Nanoha.

"A world where life has no talent for magic or is not prepared for it. Earth itself is a non-administrated world. Only three mages were born on Earth to date, including your mother, are they are generally considered the most powerful mages ever seen. But on Mid-Childa there was one mage who was the strongest of them all – a mage who is – well, it's just incredible that you don't even know her name, everyone in Mid-Childa knows –"

"Who?"

"Well – I don't like saying her name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"By the Saint King, Nanoha, people are still scared. Oh Saint King, this is difficult. You see, there was a mage who went…bad, as bad as you can go. Worse. Worse than worse. Her name was…"

Schach gulped, but no words came out.

"Maybe you could write it down?" Nanoha suggested.

"No – can't spell it. All right – _Stern the Destructor_." Schach shuddered. "Don't make me say it again. Anyway, this – this mage, about twenty years ago now, started looking for followers. She got them, too – some were afraid, some just wanted a little bit of her power, because she was getting herself power, all right. Dark days, Nanoha. You didn't know who to trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange mages…terrible things happened. She was taking over. Of course, some stood up to her – and she killed them. Horribly. One of the only safe places left was St. Hilde. I'll wager Carim-Sama was the only one the Queen of Darkness was afraid of. Didn't dare try taking the school, not just then, anyway.

"Now, your mother and father were the most decent mages I ever knew. Lord and Lady Saint at St. Hilde in their day! I suppose the mystery is why the Queen of Darkness never tried to get them on her side before…probably knew they were too close to Carim-Sama to wany anything to do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe she thought she could persuade them…maybe she just wanted them out of the way. All anyone knows is she turned up in Saint's Cradle where you were all living, on Hollow's Eve ten years ago. You were just a year old back then and your bother was coming back on vacation from his first year. The Dark Queen came to your house and – and –"

Schach suddenly gripped a handful of her cape and blew her nose into the material, leaving a nasty, damp spot on the pristine cloth.

"Sorry," she said. "But it's that sad – I knew your mother and father, and nicer people you couldn't find – anyway…

"The Queen of Darkness killed everyone – you parents and siblings. And then – and this is the real mystery of the thing – she tried to kill you, too. Wanted to make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe she just enjoyed killing by then. But she couldn't do it. Ever wonder how you got that scar on your neck? That was no ordinary cut. That's what you get when powerful, evil magic touches you – took care of your family and your house, even –but it didn't work on you, and that's why you're famous, Nanoha. No one ever lived after she decided to kill them, no one except you, and she'd killed some of the best mages of the age – the Uzumakis, the Howletts, the Nimues – and you were only a baby, and you lived."

Something very painful was going on in Nanoha's mind. As Schach's story came to a close, she saw again the blinding flash of vermillion light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before – and she remembered something else, for the first time in her life: a cold, cruel laugh.

Schach was watching her sadly.

"Took you from the ruined house myself, on Carim-Sama's orders. Brought you to these people…"

"What a load of garbage," said Uncle Kenji. Nanoha jumped; she had almost forgotten that the Henkens were there. Uncle Kenji certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Schach and his fists were clenched.

"Now, you listen here, girl," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and all this about your family, well, they were freaks, no denying it, and the world is better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these magic types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end –"

But at that moment, Schach leapt from the sofa and dashed between Nanoha and Uncle Kenji faster than they could blink. There was a flash of orange and the church nun was holding a matching pair of tonfa but with rectangular steel blades instead of wooden sticks. Holding one of the blade edges to Uncle Kenji's head, she said, "I'm warning you, Henken – I'm warning you – one more word…"

In danger of being beheaded by the dangerous church official carrying sharp weapons, Uncle Kenji's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's better," said Schach, breathing and sitting back down on the sofa; her tonfa-blades glowed orange and transformed into two miniature plates on her ring.

Nanoha, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.

"But what happened to Ster-, sorry – I mean, the Queen of Darkness?"

"That's a good question, Nanoha. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night she tried to kill you. Make you even more famous. That's the biggest mystery, see…she was getting more and more powerful – why'd she go?

"Some say she died. Bantha fodder, if you want my opinion. I don't think she had enough humanity left in her to die. Some say she's still out there, biding her time, like, but I don't believe that either. People who were on her side came back to ours. Some of them came out of some kind trances. I don't think they could've done it if she was coming back.

"Most of us still think she's still out there but lost her powers. Too weak to carry on. Because something about you finished her, Nanoha. There was something going on that night she hadn't counted on – _I _don't know what it was, no one does – but something about you stopped her, all right."

Schach looked at Nanoha with warmth and respect blazing in her eyes, but Nanoha, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A mage? Her? How could she possibly be? She had spent her whole life being beaten by Kenta, and bullied by Aunt Kurima and Uncle Kenji; if she really was a mage, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they tried to lock her in the basement. If she had once defeated the greatest mage in the universe, how come Kenta had always kicked her around like a soccer ball?

"Schach," she said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a mage."

To her surprise, Schach chuckled.

"Not a mage, huh? Never made things happen when you were angry or scared?"

Nanoha looked into the fire. Now she come to think about it…every strange thing that had made her aunt and uncle furious with her had happened when she, Nanoha, had been upset or angry…chased by Kenta's gang, she had somehow found herself out of their reach…dreading to go to school with a shaven head, she'd managed to make it grow back…and the very last time Kenta had hit her, didn't she get her revenger, without even realizing what she was doing? Didn't she set the colony of vampire bats of him?

Nanoha looked back and Schach, smiling, and saw that Schach was positively beaming.

"See?" said Schach. "Nanoha Takamachi, not a mage – just you wait, you'll be famous at St. Hilde."

But Uncle Kenji wasn't going to give in without a fight.

Haven't I told you she's not going?" he hissed. "She's going to _Saitei Academy_ and she'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and she needs all sorts of garbage – spell books and Barrier Jackets and –"

"If she wants to go, a great Machlos like you won't stop her," growled Schach. "Stopping Shiro and Momoko Takamachi's daughter from going to St. Hilde! You're insane! Her name has been down ever since she was born. She's going off to the finest academy for magical children in the universe. Seven years there and she won't know herself. She'll be with children of her own kind, for a change, and she'll be under the greatest headmistress St. Hilde ever had, Carim Gra –"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HER MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Kenji.

He had finally gone too far. A flash of orange and Schach was standing with her tonfa-blades, twirling them at her sides, "NEVER –" she thundered; the wind started to pick up around her, " – INSULT – CARIM – GRACIA – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!"

She twirled one of her tonfa-blades to the side towards the farthest wall – there was a brief flash of orange light, a sound like a knife scraping against stone, a large explosion, and the next second, there was a thin hole in the middle of the wall, perfectly cut like a fresh wound, and the rain splattered inside the hut. Now that she had demonstrated her ability, Schach brought the Henken's attention to the remaining Tonfa-blade still twirling in her hand.

Uncle Kenji roared. Pulling Aunt Kurima and Kenta into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Schach and slammed the door behind them.

Her weapons transformed back into miniature plates and Schach scratched her head.

"Shouldn't have lost my temper," she said ruefully, "but my aim was a little off anyway. I meant to cut of the fat one's head, but I suppose he's been punished enough with parents like that."

She cast a sideways look at Nanoha.

"I'd be grateful if you didn't mention that to anyone at St. Hilde," she said. "I'm – er – not supposed to use Windenschaft outside of school grounds, strictly speaking. I was given permission to use a bit of magic to follow you and get your letters to you and stuff – one of the reasons I was so keen to take on this job –"

"Why aren't you supposed to use magic?" asked Nanoha.

"Oh, well – I was at St. Hilda myself but I – er –got expelled, to tell you the truth. In my third year. They put an Output Limiter on my Linker Core – that's the organ that lets us produce magic. But Carim-Sama let me stay on as the Gamekeeper and let me join the Saint Church as her personal assistant. Great person, Carim-Sama."

"Why were you expelled?"

"It's getting late and we've got lots to do tomorrow," said Schach loudly. "Gotta get to Mid-Childa, get all your books at that."

She took off her church uniform, revealing that she wore a sea foam-green body suit with a white cape tied around her waist by a sea foam-green cloth and matching black boots and gloves – she looked suited for battle at a moment's notice. She smirked at Nanoha's awestruck expression and threw the uniform to her.

"You can sleep under that for tonight," she said. "And don't mind if it wiggles a little, I think I still have a couple of snake eggs buried under there somewhere.

* * *

**And that's a wrap! From this point on, we will leave the 'normal' chapters behind and move ahead into the real focus of the story. In the next chapter, we will finally be introduced to multiple concepts including Mid-Childa, the TSAB, Barrier Jackets, and the famous Intelligence Devices. Stay tuned for what will come.**


	5. Cranagan

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Cranagan**

Nanoha woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight.

"It was a dream," she told herself firmly. "I dreamed a nun called Schach came to tell me I was going to a school for mages. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in the basement."

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

_And there's Aunt Kurima knocking on the door, _Nanoha thought, her heart sinking. But she still didn't open her eyes. It had been such a good dream.

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

"All right," Nanoha mumbled, "I'm getting up."

She sat up and Schach's church cloak fell off her. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Schach herself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, snoring rather loudly, and there was Wendy the Fay rapping her tiny knuckles against the glass window, a neon-green pad clamped under her arm.

Nanoha scrambled to her feet, so happy she felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open. Wendy chirped 'thanks' to Nanoha and glided over to her master, who was now drooling a bit along the sides of her mouth. The feather-winged shook her head, raised the pad she was carrying, and slapped it hard over Schach's face. The church nun was immediately awake and rolled over to the side, landing on the floor with her face.

"Schach, are you all right?" asked Nanoha

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Schach grunted, pushing herself off the ground. "I hate it when you do that, Wendy."

"What'd she do that for?"

"She wants me to pay,"

"What?"

"She's always on me for paying the news on time. Now I know I left that card around her somewhere."

Schach snatched her uniform away from Nanoha, started digging underneath her cape, and pulled out an assortment of unusual things that shouldn't have fit under there – a ring of keys, a carton of eggs, balls of string, a package of instant ramen, and even a small cannon. Finally, Schach pulled out a small plastic card that looked similar to a credit card, only it was addresses in a language not native to Earth.

"Let's see…that's 50 credits," said Schach to herself.

"Credits?" Nanoha asked.

"I guess I forgot to tell you last night," said Schach tiredly, still a little sleepy, "physical currency is nonexistent on Mid-Childa – too much hassle having to carry around bills and coins only to lose them. No, Mid-Childa uses a system of electronic currency to pay for things."

"Like a credit card?"

"Exactly."

Schach held her electronic card flat against the surface of the pad that Wendy brought, and waited for a small beep that confirmed her payment. The blank screen was soon replaced with articles and photographs like a standard Earth newspaper, only it was written in Mid-Childa language. Wendy chirped that her work was finished and fluttered underneath Schach's cape – a cute little chirp told Nanoha that she was asleep.

Schach yawned loudly, stood up, and stretched.

"I think we should be going, Nanoha, lots to do today, got to get you to Mid-Childa and buy all your stuff for school."

Nanoha was watching Schach as she replaced the electronic card back under her uniform and stared for a moment. She had just thought of something that made her feel as though the happy balloon inside her had been punctured.

"Um – Schach?"

"Mm?" said Schach, who was fastening the last button on her cloak.

"I haven't got any money – and you heard what Uncle Kenji said last night…he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," said Schach calmly. "do you think your parents wouldn't leave you anything?"

"But if there house was destroyed –"

"They didn't keep their credits in the house, girl! Nah, the first stop for us is Reichtum. Mid-Childa's largest international banking system. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold – and I wouldn't say no to a bit of your birthday cake, either."

"Mages have _banks_?"

"Reichtum is used by everyone on Mid-Childa – mages and Machlos. Mostly operated by Mariage.

"By _what_?" said Nanoha, dropping a little of her sausage.

"Mariage – artificial life-forms that systematically run Reichtum day in and day out. They're more machine than human in my opinion. But you would have to be insane if you tried to rob Reichtum, I'll tell you that. Mariage are not to be underestimated, Nanoha. They're smart and deadly when they want to be. Reichtum is the safest place in Mid-Childa for anything you want to keep safe – except maybe St. Hilde. As a matter of fact, I gotta visit Reichtum anyway. For Carim-Sama. St. Hilde business." Schach drew herself up proudly. "She usually gets me to do important stuff for her. Fetching you – getting things from Reichtum – knows she can trust me, see.

"Got everything? Come on, then."

Nanoha followed Schach out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the ocean was gleaming in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Kenji had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.

"How did you get here?" Nanoha asked, looking around for another boat.

"I transported myself, of course," said Schach.

"_Transport?_"

"Yeah – and we're going to need to do it again. Kinda sad – this'll be the last bit of magic I can use until I get back to St. Hilde. Stand over here next to me, Nanoha."

Nanoha stepped in line with the church nun just as a glow of orange light appeared beneath their feet. Looking down, she saw the same triangle that was stamped on her letter, only a different color.

"Dimensional Transfer – initiate," said Schach, appeared to be thoroughly focused on the triangle, and Nanoah wasn't curious enough to interrupt. "Dimensional coordinates are as followed: 8, 76-C, 44, 19, 33, 12-D, 6, 99, 35…"

Schach seemed to be going through a lot list of numbers and letters which she supposed is how transportation worked on Mid-Childa. The longer the coordinates seemed to go, the brighter Schach's glowing triangle seemed to become.

"Open the door of invitation," Schach concluded. "Open the door to Administrated Planet #1, Mid-Childa!"

The last thing Nanoha saw was the gentle lapping of the ocean waves and the Henkens staring fretfully out the window before it was all consumed in a curtain of orange. Nanoha could feel herself floating – the ground had seemed to disappear beneath her feet. Nanoha didn't know how much time was passing her by or whether she was moving around or floating aimlessly. Then she felt Schach's hand grab her own. The church nun smiled playfully.

"I know dimensional transfer takes a lot of getting used to," said Schach, "especially for someone from a Non-Administrated Planet. But don't worry, you get used to it after a while." She looked around the sea of orange, possibly seeing something Nanoha couldn't. "It'll be a while till we get to Mid-Childa – my magic isn't exactly suited for practical needs."

"Hey, I was wondering, why is Reichtum run by Mariage if they're so deadly?" Nanoha asked suddenly.

"Mariage are deadly, but follow orders," said Schach, pulling out the news pad as she spoke. "Their name comes from the ancient Belken word for marionette and was made by Ixpellia Flame, one of St. Hilde's four founders. Besides that, they say that the Ru Lusch Clan uses their dragons to guard the high-security vaults at Reichtum. And then you gotta find your way – Reichtum is hundreds of miles below the surface of Mid-Childa, see. You'd die of hunger trying to get out, even if you did manage to get your hands on something."

Nanoha floated and thought about this while Schach read her news pad while maintaining a firm grip on her wrist. Nanoha had learned from Uncle Kenji that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, she had never had so many questions in her life.

"Looks like that rogue Homunculus is still running free," Schach muttered. "TSAB messing things up as usual."

"What's the TSAB?" Nanoha asked, before she could stop herself.

"The Time-Space Administration Bureau," said Schach. "They're the guys in charge of all political and military things in the Administrated Planets. Their main priority is to monitor cultural growth and provide disaster relief to each Administrated Planet and some Non-Administrated Planets. They also have a High Council in charge of the operation: Largo Kiel, Leone Phils, and Midget Crowbel. Largo and Leone are a bit pig-headed in my opinion, but Crowbel-Sama is all right. She was the headmistress of St. Hilde before she resigned six years ago."

"I bet she must have been a good person," said Nanoha, suddenly finding nothing else to say on the matter. "So – um – what were you saying about dragons, Schach? Do they really exist?"

"Of course they exist," Schach scoffed. "You find them all over places like Fiore and Alzas. If I had the power, I'd like to have a dragon."

"You'd _like _one?"

"Wanted one ever since I was a kid," said Schach. "But since I don't have the magic for it, I mostly just help Caro train the dragons on the school grounds – don't worry, they're tamed. Oh good, we're almost there."

Once again, Nanoha looked around the endless ocean of orange light and saw nothing that would indicate that they were remotely close to anywhere. Maybe it was something only the caster could see? Nanoha was fairly new to this magic thing and didn't know the rules behind it. Schach had put away her news pad, reached under her cape for a ball of orange yarn, and started knitting a scarf all while having one hand on Nanoha. And while the Earth girl was amazed at the many talents that Schach possessed, she was starting to get sick of the color orange. While not something more relaxing – like pink?

"Still got your letter, Nanoha?" Schach asked as she counted the stitches.

Nanoha took the parchment envelope out of her pocket.

"Good," said Schach. "There's a list there of everything you'll need."

Nanoha unfolded the second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

**St. Hilde Academy of Magic**

**Course Books**

All students will require a copy of the following:  
_Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Evadine Caster  
_A History of Magic _by Enziko Shiba  
_Magical Theory _by Anderon Quibble  
_A Beginning's Guide to Transmutation _by Izumi Curtis  
_Plants Species and their Properties _by Tsunade Senju  
_Scientific and Chemical Study _by Medusa Gorgon  
_The Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures _by Doreen Green  
_A Guide to Tactical Combat _by Fern Corrado

**Equipment**

1 Device (Intelligence or Armed)  
1 Barrier Jacket (or Knight Armor)  
1 telescope  
1 basic chemistry set  
1 set of brass scales

**Students may also bring a Familiar or a Fay**

"I've never even heard of most of this stuff," said Nanoha. "And we can find it all in Mid-Childa?"

"If you don't believe me, see for yourself – we're already here." Said Schach.

At that moment, Schach let go of Nanoha's hand and was worried that she would be trapped in the sea of orange forever – that thought scared her worse than Kenta. But surprisingly, she found that he feet managed to touch down on a solid surface. The orange light began to crack like a broken mirror and Nanoha raised her hand over her eyes to stop the blinding light that was peering through.

"This is it," said Schach, unaffected by the brightness. "Central 46, the hub for transfers to all Administrated Planets."

Nanoha blinked as her eyes adjusted and was gapping in awe. She had seen pictures of the Grand Central Terminal in America, but it paled in comparison to Central 46. The building was large enough to hold two football stadiums, hundreds of tunnels designated with signs leading to other worlds, monitors floating around displaying various new reports and entertainment programs, and a few dozen shops selling everything from souvenirs to household pets. While Nanoha was awestruck by the station, Schach steered her forward – they were holding up the line.

Nanoha couldn't believe it. She was on an alien world. Most of the people were human, but she had seen quite a few aliens as they passed by. A group of beautiful aliens with head tails giggles at the men posing for them. A giant squid-man was walking next to an officer in handcuffs. A mole-looking alien was chattering to the man behind the desk in the middle of the station – Nanoha assumed her was some kind of board control official. The man stamped a sheet of paper and handed it to the mole man before asking for the next person in line, saying, "State your name and purpose for coming to Mid-Childa."

"I'm Schach Nouera, official representative of St. Hilde," said Schach, clapping her hand on Nanoha's shoulder. "I'm here to make sure that Nanoha Takamachi gathers all her school supplies for her year at St. Hilde."

Central 46 had suddenly gone completely still and silent – even the creatures flying overhead and seemed to have stopped moving.

"By the Saint King…" said the official, peering at Nanoha, "Bless my soul…it's Nanoha Takamachi…Nanoha Takamachi is on Mid-Childa!" He hurried out from behind his desk, rushed towards Nanoha and seized her hand, tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Ms. Takamachi, welcome back!"

Nanoha didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at her. The officers were so distracted by her that they failed to notice their squid-man prisoner making a break for it. Schach was positively beaming. There was a great flurry of movement and the next moment, Nanoha found herself shaking hands with everyone in Central 46 – even the slimy ones.

"Kendra Falks, Ms. Takamachi, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Ms. Takamachi, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand – I think I'm shedding."

Nanoha shook hands again and again – Kendra Falks kept coming back for more. A tall man with wild-blue hair and a red tattoo covering the right side of his face made his way forward, bowing to Nanoha with grace and sophistication.

"Jellal!" said Schach. "Nanoha, this is Jellal Fernandes. He'll be one of your teachers at St. Hilde."

"Hello, Takamachi." Said Jellal smoothly, gently grasping her hand. "Can't tell you how please I am to meet you. I'm eager to teach you what I know even if it is only for a year - special favor to Carim-Sama."

"What kind of magic do you teach, Jellal-Sensei?"

"It's not exactly magic, per se." hummed Jellal, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I teach Tactical Combat Instruction. Since most mages are more combat oriented and join the TSAB after they graduate, it's my duty to make sure that they are prepared for the real world and to think logically in the heat of battle. I'll also be teaching a few combat spells, but that's mostly for the higher grades." He looked back at Schach. "You'll be getting all her equipment, I suppose? I've got to pick up a new book about Lacrima myself…"

But the others wouldn't let Jellal-Sensei keep Nanoha to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Schach managed to make herself over the babble.

"Must get on – lots to buy. Come on, Nanoha."

Kendra Falks shook Nanoha's hand one last time, and Schach led them though the station and into the elevator, pushing the button Nanoha assumed was street level. Schacb grinned at Nanoha.

"Told ya, didn't I? Told ya you were famous. Even Jellal-Sensei was excited. Then again, if I were him, I'd be a little excited myself. After everything he went through – being mind controlled by a vindictive witch, nearly blowing himself up at Nirvana – anyone would be skipping if they'd managed to survive all that."

Mind control? Nirvana? Nanoha's head was swimming with all this new information. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened to let Nanoha and Schach off at the street level. One look beyond the doors and Nanoha was stuck in place with her eyes wide as saucers.

"Welcome to Mid-Childa's capital," said Schach. "Cranagan."

She grinned at Nanoha's amazement. She pushed the young mage out the doors and into the crowded street. Seeing Mid-Childa for the first time, Nanoha knew there was no comparison between this planet and Earth. Cranagan alone was twice as big as Tokyo City, but was much cleaner and less congestion in the streets. There were a large number of holo-screens floating around advertising the latest products.

"There'll be time to sight-see later," said Schach, pulling Nanoha out of her stupor. "We still need to get your money before we can buy anything."

Nanoha wished she had about eight more eyes. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside the Pharmacy was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Diborane, 120 credits and ounce, that's outrageous…"

A flutter of squeky voices came from a bright shop with a sign saying Fiona's Fay Fair – Snow, Wind, Light, Fire, and much, much more! Several children of about Nanoha's age were watching gathered around a small holo-screen, cheering at whatever event was taking place on the pad. "Look," Nanoha heard one of them say, "it's Testarossa-San – the youngest pro duelist ever –" There were shops selling cloths, shops selling telescopes and silver instruments Nanoha had never seen before, teetering piles of spell books and paper, chemistry glasses, globes of the moon…

"Reichtum," said Schach.

They had reach a pearl-white building decorated in purple banners that towered over the other shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze door, wearing uniforms of orange and purple, was –

"Yeah, that's a Mariage," said Schach quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward her. The Mariage looked like ordinary human women with short, green hair, but Nanoha could not shake the chill running down her spine. Their faces held no expression and their eyes were hidden behind the silver visors – that is to say, if they had eyes at all. The Mariage bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed  
For those who take, but do not earn  
Must pay most dearly in their turn  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
a treasure that was never yours  
thief, you have been warned, beware  
of finding more than treasure in there._

"Like I said, you'd have to been insane to rob them," said Schach.

A pair of Mariage bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more Mariage were sitting behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledger, calculating credits, and examining precious stones. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more Mariage were showing people in and out of these. Schach and Nanoha made for the counter.

"Good morning," said Schach to a free Mariage. "We've come to make a withdraw from Ms. Nanoha Takamachi's account."

"Does Ms. Takamachi have her card?" said the Mariage in a monotonous tone.

"Got it here somewhere," said Schach, and she started emptying her bottomless cape onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog treats, over the Mariage's book of numbers. The puppet-creature didn't react to its desk being defiled. Nanoha watched the Mariage on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as coals.

"Got it," said Schach at last, holding up a pink plastic card.

The Mariage took the card and slipped it into the small port on its desk, typing away at the holographic pad that appeared.

"How much do you wish to withdraw?" The Mariage asked.

"Hmm – about 5000 credits should be enough for school supplies," said Schach, carefully leaning over the counter with a letter she had just pulled out. "And I also got a letter from Carim-Sama. It's about the you-know-what in vault 713."

The Mariage read the note carefully – at least Nanoha thought it was reading.

"Very well," it said, handing back the letter along with the credit card. "Your credits have been successfully transferred. I will have someone take you down to the vault."

Not a moment later did another Mariage appear. Once Schach had crammed all the dog treats back inside her cape, she and Nanoha followed the nameless marionette towards one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the you-know-what in vault 713?" Nanoha asked.

"Can't tell you that," said Schach mysteriously. "Very secret. St. Hilde business. Carim-Sama trusted me. More than my job's worth to tell you that."

The Mariage held the door open for them. Nanoha, who had been expecting more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches – a very medieval theme. It sloped and there was a long tunnel leading downwards into the darkness. The Mariage snapped its fingers and – Nanoha nearly screamed – a large purple snake with a saddle on its neck came hurtling towards them. They climbed in and the massive serpent took off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Nanoha tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The oversized reptile seemed to know its own way, because the Mariage wasn't steering. Either that, or it possessed some type of mind control over the serpent.

Nanoha's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late – they plunged even deeper, slithering along an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never knew," Nanoha called to Schach over the noise of the snake, "what's the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Schach. "And don't ask me questions right now, I think I'm going to be sick."

She did look very green, but they were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled around tight corners. They went sliding against the wall of an underground ravine, and Nanoha leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Schach groaned and pulled her back by the scruff of her neck.

Finally…they reached vault 713. When the serpent stopped beside a small door in the passage wall, Schach got out and had to lean against the wall to stop her knees from trembling.

"Stand back," said the Mariage. It pressed its palm against the door and a shimmering white light appeared before the door simply melted away. "If any but a Mariage tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there."

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Nanoha asked.

"About once every ten years," said the Mariage with a blank expression.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Nanoha was sure, and she leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least – but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Schach picked it up and tucked it deep inside her cape – Wendy chirped somewhere underneath. Nanoha longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back on this infernal beast, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep my mouth shut," said Schach.

* * *

One wild snake ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Reichtum. Nanoha didn't know where to run first now that she had a card filled with money. She didn't have to know how many credits were to a yen to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her entire life – more money than even Kenta might have ever had.

"Might as well get your Barrier Jacket first," said Schach, nodding toward Erza Scarlet's Armor for All Occasions. "Listen, Nanoha, would you mind if I slipped off for a pick-me-up at the pub for a while? I hate the way those Reichtum snakes move." She did still look a bit sick, so Nanoha entered Erza Scarlet's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Erza Scarlet was a lovely woman with hair as bright as her name dressed in an odd combination of knight's armor and a short skirt.

"St. Hilde, dear?" she said, when Nanoha started to speak. "I've got a lot of orders right now – another young lady being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a fair-skinned girl with long, wavy blond hair was standing on a footstool while a second woman was straightening her new Barrier Jacket. So that's what a barrier jacket looked like – fuchsia hakama with tan flames at the hem, black boots with yellow opals, a white cape with black designs held at her waist by a fuchsia belt, a belly shirt with a purple cross, and a white and black jacket over top. They looked like ordinary clothes, but could tell they were designed for strength and speed in mind.

Erza Scarlet stood Nanoha on the stool next to her, took a few quick measurements of her height and length, and started drawing a few designs on the clipboard she carried.

"Hello," said the girl, "St. Hilde, too?"

"Yes," said Nanoha.

"My mother's next door buying my books and my aunt's up the street looking at Devices," said the girl. She had a boared, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at system upgrades geared towards speed. I heard first years aren't allowed to join the teams, but I'll show them that I'm better than anyone there. They'll be begging me to join them."

Nanoha was strongly reminded of Kenta.

"Hey, do you play Riot Force at all?"

"No," said Nanoha, wondering what on Ear…Mid-Childa Riot Force could be.

"I do – Mother says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Nanoha, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Material, all our family have been – imagine being in Hades, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Nanoha, wishing she could say something a bit more interesting.

"I say, look at that woman!" said the girl suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Schach was standing there, grinning at Nanoha and pointing at two large ice creams to show she couldn't come in.

"That's Schach," said Nanoha, pleased to know something the girl didn't. "She works at St. Hilde."

"Oh," said the girl, "I've heard of her. She's a sort of servant, isn't she?"

"She's a gamekeeper," said Nanoha. She was liking the girl less and less every second.

"Yes, exactly. I heard she's a sort of _savage_ – lives in a shack on the school grounds and every now and then she gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up cutting her bed in two."

"I think she's brilliant," said Nanoha coldly.

"_Do_ you?" said the girl, with a slight sneer. "Why is she with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Nanoha shortly. She didn't feel like going into the matter with this girl.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were _our _kind, weren't they?"

"They were mages, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of St. Hilde until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old magic families. What's your family name, anyway?"

But before Nanoha could answer, Erza Scarlet said, "I think I have a general outline for your Barrier Jacket. I was thinking of a white cloth to match your complexion with a little blue to bring out your eyes. Ooh, and a little red ribbion would look just adorable on you," and Nanoha, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the girl, hopped off the footstool and followed Erza Scarlet to the dressing rooms.

"Well, I'll see you at St. Hilde, I suppose," said the drawling girl.

Nanoha was rather quiet as she ate the ice cream Schach had bought her (chocolate and strawberry with chopped nuts).

"What's up?" said Schach.

"Nothing," Nanoha lied. They stopped to by some paper and writing utensils. Nanoha cheered a bit when she found a pen that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said, "Schach, what's Riot Force?"

"Saint King, Nanoha, I keep forgetting how little you know – not knowing about Riot Force!"

"Don't make me feel worse," said Nanoha. She told Schach about the fair-skinned girl in Erza Scarlet's shop.

" – and she said people from Machlos families shouldn't even be allowed in –"

"You're not _from _a Machlos family. If she had known who you _were _– she had grown up knowing your name if her parents are mages. You saw what everyone in Central 46 was like when they saw you. Anyway, what does she know it, some of the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in them in a long line of Machlos – look at your mom! Look what she had for a sister!"

"So what _is _Riot Force?"

"It's our sport. Mage sport. If I had to make an analogy, I'd say it's an aerial version of Earth soccer. There are people flying in the air – there are Gadgets and Logia – everyone follows Riot Force – sorta hard to explain the rules."

"And what are Material and Hades?"

"School houses. There are four. Everyone says Hades are a lot of nobodies, but –"

"I bet I'm in Hades," said Nanoha gloomily.

Better Hades than Material," said Schach darkly. "There isn't a single mage who went bad who wasn't in Material. The Queen of Darkness was one."

"Ste –, sorry – the Dark Queen was at St. Hilde?"

It was years and years ago," said Schach.

They bought Nanoha's school books in a shop called Spellbinder's where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Kenta, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Schahc almost had to drag Nanoha away from _How to Curse Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges (Including Hair loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More) _by Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Kenta."

"I'm not saying that's not a good idea, but you're not supposed to use magic on Non-Administrated Planets except in very special circumstances," said Schach. "And anyway, we have no idea if you could even work out those curses yet. Those are support type magic – so to speak – and we don't know what type of mage you are. You could be an attacker, a defender, a support, a summoner, or even a flyer. That's why you're going to St. Hilde to find out."

Schach wouldn't let Nanoha buy a solid gold telescope, either ("You can't go wasting your credits"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing chemistry ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope instead. They then visited the pharmacy, which was fascinating enough for its horrible smell, a mixture of rotting eggs and sweaty gym socks – she though pharmacies were supposed to be clean. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls. While Schach asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic chemistry ingredients for Nanoha, Nanoha herself examined the jar of Uranyl sulfate at 3600 credits each and a bucket of salt cubes (50 credits a scoop).

Outside the pharmacy, Schach checked Nanoha's list again.

"Just your device left – oh yeah, and I still haven't got you a birthday present yet."

Nanoha felt herself go red.

"You don't have to –"

"I know I don't have to. Tell you what, I'll get you a Familiar. There are different kinds of Familiars including cats, dog, and toads. Toads are definitely out of the question, you'd be laughed at – and I'm not particularly friendly with cats. Hey, instead of a Familiar, how about a Fay? All the kids want Fays, they're dead useful, carrying your mail everywhere?"

"Why do Fays carry mail?" asked Nanoha. "If Mid-Childa is so advanced, shouldn't they have like video phones or something."

"We used to, but we found out in the last war that they can easily be hacked or intercepted. Fays are strong magical creatures and damn near impossible to catch – much more reliable than electronic mail."

Twenty minutes later, they left Fiona's Fay Fair, which had been blindingly bright and actually had a tree grown inside to house all the Fays. Sitting on Nanoha's shoulder was a tiny female Fay with wav, blond hair and large green eyes and silvery butterfly wings grown out the back of her salmon-pink dress. Nanoha couldn't stop stammering her thanks to Schach.

"Don't mention it," said Schach. "I don't expect that you've had a lot of presents from the Henkens All that's left is Shari's – the only place for an Intelligence Device and you got to have the best Device."

An Intelligence Device...a regulator for a mage's magic…this was what Nanoha had been really looking forward to.

The last shop was small and grubby. The peeling red letters over the door read Shario Finieno: Device Meister. A single emerald necklace lay on a faded purple cushion in the grimy window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depth of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single spindly chair that Schach sat on to wait. Nanoha felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands of file cabinets that were stacked neatly to the ceiling. For Some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a cheery voice. Nanoha jumped. Schach must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and she got quickly off the spindly chair.

A young woman barely in her twenties was standing before them, her chocolate-brown hair littered with dust, her round lasses smudged, and her white lab coat stained with in oil and other assortment of fluids.

"Hello," said Nanoha said awkwardly.

"Hello, there," said the mechanic known as Shari. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you one day, Nanoha Takamachi." It wasn't a question. "I met your mother only once when she was bringing in your brother to shop for his first Device – I was only an apprentice at the time. He chose a sterling-silver sword with an Sapphire Core – strong Armed Device – excellent for Melee Spells."

Shari moved closer to Nanoha; her glasses magnifying her ocean-blue eyes.

"I was hoping that I would be the one to build a Device for your sister. I had the prefect idea – a pair of knucklers made from Xenophite steel, excellent for close combat purposes and excels in speed-based assaults. Then again, it may not have happened – it is the Device the chooses the user, of course."

Shari had come so close that she and Nanoha were almost nose to nose. Nanoha could see herself reflected in the mechanic's glasses.

"And that's where…" Shari touched the star-shaped scar at Nanoha's collar, gently stroking the darkened skin. "I'm sorry to say that my mother was the one who made the Device that did it. Custom scepter made of Pryonite steel and powered by an Amethyst Core. A powerful Device, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…well, if she had known what that Device was going out in the world to do…"

"She shook her head and then, to Nanoha's relief, spotted, Schach.

"Schach! Schach Nouera! It's always wonderful to see you. How's Windernschaft been treating you. It's been a while since I last upgraded it."

"Yes, it has," said Schach. "Though I think it might need some fine tuning – it's fine in melee combat, but it's been getting a little slow in spell casting."

"Stop by the shop some time and I'll give you an estimate," said Shari with a cheery smile. "Well ,now – Ms. Takamachi. Let me see." She pulled a long tape measure with glowing markings out of her pocket – a holo-screen popped into the air a moment later. "Which is your dominant hand?"

"I'm left-handed," said Nanoha.

"Please hold out your arm." She measured Nanoha from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and around her head. The whole time, the holo-screen was marking down the measurements. "Every Device has a core designed with mechanics and properties unique to itself. Some are Intelligent, some are combat-oriented, some are made for Unison, and even a few Hybrid-Intelligent. No two Devices are the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another mage's Device."

Nanoha suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Shari was scrounging through the file cabinets, which were filled with Devices of different shape and size.

"That should be enough," she said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. The holo-screen glided over and Shari snatched it out of the air to examine it. "Hmm…all right then, Ms. Takamachi. Try this one. Made of Bakuren metal and an Emerald Core – very good for shooting magic. Just take it and give it a wave."

Nanoha clipped the emerald bracelet around her wrist and (feeling foolish) waved her hand around. Shari immediately ducked behind the counter before the wall behind her cracked like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. Nanoha threw off the bracelet as fast as she could.

"No, no definitely not. Let's try a wearable-type. Vazlin cloth – Topaz Core. Give it a try –"

Nanoha slipped on the glove-like device and, very carefully, waved her hand away from Shari. This time it was Schach who ducked for cover when the chair she was sitting on exploded into a million splinters.

"This may take a while…"

She wasn't kidding. Nanoha tried more and more Devices and was doing an impressive job of reconstructing Shari's shop. But instead of being angry and frustrated, Shari seemed to become more giddy with each catastrophe. Nanoha had just finished blowing out the windows with her latest failure when Shari disappeared to the farthest parts of her shop.

"I haven't had a customer this tricky in a long time. Hmm…I wonder." She returned to the counter – or what's left of it – want held a small security box bound tightly in chains. "This was the last Device my mother ever made before her retirement. Kaiser metal with a Ruby Core. I wonder if…"

She slowly unlocked the box – the chains clattered heavily on the floor – and present Nanoha with a small ruby necklace. It didn't look any different from the other Devices, but Nanoha could instinctively sense that it was very powerful. She barely touched the surface of the jewel when the shop rang with a new voice – it sounded feminine, but mechanical.

"**Stand-by ready! Set up!**"

Nanoha jumped back for a moment – the voice was coming from the jewel itself! Everyone watched as the ruby gem floated into the air, glowing stronger with each passing second. A crescent of gold circled around the jewel with two pistons attaching to the back and a pink and white handle extending from the bottom. Nanoha was complete star struck. The newly formed Device slowly descended into its master's hands, filling the young girl with warmth she had never known before. Schach whooped and clapped and Shari cried, "Oh, bravo! Oh, this is amazing! But very curious…very curious indeed…"

"Sorry," said Nanoha, "but _what's _curious."

Shari fixed Nanoha with her wide stare.

"I have a record of every Device ever sold in this shop, Ms. Takamachi. Every single one. It so happened that the Ruby Core that resides within your Device is the only one that exists as a pair with the Amethyst Core – the only two Devices in the universe with matching designs. My mother made the Ruby Core specifically to match the Amethyst Core in every single way. It is curious that you should be destined for this Device when its sister – Luciferion – gave you that scar."

Nanoha swallowed

"Yes, Pyronite steel, Amethyst Core. Curious how these things happen. The Device chooses the master, remember…I think we must expect great things from you, Ms. Takamachi…after all, the Queen of Darkness did great things – terrible, but great."

Nanoha shivered. She was starting to think that Shari might be a good friend to hang out with in the park, but very creepy as a shop keeper.

"Well, all that's left to do is name your Device," said Schach loudly. Nanoha almost forgot she was there.

"Name it?"

"Yes," said Shari. "Each Intelligence Device has its own personality that will grow and develop the more it understands and interacts with its master. The name is the best place to start – something that will signify its importance."

"A name –" hummed Nanoha, turning over her Device. "Since its sister brought so much sadness and pain to people, maybe it should be named something that will raise people's spirits and give them hope…how about…Raising Heart?"

"**Identity Confirmed: Raising Heart!**" The Device now known as Raising Heart acknowledged. "**Hello, my master!**"

"Hello, Raising Heart," Nanoha giggled.

"Ugh – it's sweet," Schach groaned.

"Sickly sweet," said Shari.

"Give me a break!"

* * *

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Nanoha – with a Fay on her shoulder and Raising Heart tied to her neck – followed Schach back down the street and through Central 46, which was as busy as ever. Nanoha didn't speak at all as they entered the tunnel; she didn't even notice when Schach performed the Dimension Transfer spell and arrived back in Uminari City. Nanoha only realized where they were when Schach tapped her on the shoulder.

"Got time for a bite to eat before you head back home," she said.

She bought Nanoha a bowl of vegetable ramen and they sat down on the high stools to eat it. Nanoha kept looking around. Everything seemed so strange, somehow.

"You all right, Nanoha? You're very quiet," said Schach.

Nanoha wasn't sure she could explain. She had just had the best birthday of her life – and yet – she slurped her ramen messily, trying to find the words.

"Everyone thinks I'm special she said at last. "All those people in Central 46, Jellal-Sensei, Shari…but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened to Ste –, sorry – I mean, the night my family died."

Schach leaned over and stared down at Nanoha with a very kind smile.

"Don't worry, Nanoha. You'll learn soon enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at St. Hilde, you'll be just fine. Just be yourself. I know it's hard. You've been singled out, and that's always hard. But you'll have agreat time at St. Hilde – I did – still do as a matter of fact."

Schach helped Nanoha to the bus station that would take her back to the Henkens, then handed her an envelope.

"Those are directions to a meeting point at Shibuya Station," She said. "Since you can't perform a Dimensional Transfer spell yourself, Carim-Sama will send a mage family to pick you up. Just be sure to be there on the first of April. And if you have any problems with the Henkens, send me a letter with your Fay, she'll know where to find me…See ya soon, Nanoha."

The bus pulled out of the station. Nanoha wanted to watch Schach until she was out of sight; she rose in her seat and pressed her nose against the window, but she blinked and Schach was gone.

* * *

**This is by far my longest chapter ever! And it's only chapter five! *cries*. Anyway, I would like to aknowledge that even though the plot resembles the original story, I have made many significant changes including the Barrier Jackets, Raising Heart, and a few characters you may or may not be familiar with. In the next chapter, we FINALLY make our way to St. Hilde and introduce the main cast for the series. Stay tuned for that.**


	6. Journey to St Hilde

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Journey to St. Hilde**

Nanoha's last month with the Henkens wasn't fun. True, Kenta was now so scared of Nanoha he wouldn't stay in the same room as her, while Aunt Kurima and Uncle Kenji didn't lock Nanoha in the basement, force her to do anything, or shout at her – in fact, they didn't speak to her at all. Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Nanoha in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a little depressing after a while.

Nanoha kept to her room, with Raising Heart and her new Fay for company. She had decided to name her Lucy after Nanoha's favorite song '_Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds_'. Her school books were very interesting, but difficult to read because they were written in another language. She was lucky to have Raising Heart, who had been helping Nanoha learn the Mid-Childa language before she went off to school. Every night before she went to sleep, Nanoha ticked off another day on the piece of paper she had pinned to the wall, counting down to April the first.

On the last day of march she thought she'd better speak to her aunt and uncle about getting to Shibuya Station the next day, so she went down to the living room where they were watching a game show on television. She cleared her throat to let them know she was there, and Kenta screamed and ran from the room.

"Er – Uncle Kenji?"

Uncle Kenji grunted to show he was listening.

"Er – I need to be at Shibuya Station tomorrow to – to go to St. Hilde."

Uncle Kenji grunted again.

"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"

Grunt. Nanoha supposed that meant yes.

"Thank you."

She was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Kenji actually spoke.

"Funny way to get to a magic school, the train. Magic carpets all been punctured, have they?"

Actually, according to news clips that Raising Heart had shown her, students actually took a ship called the _Arthra _to St. Hilde since anyone, even Machlos, could reach the magic school by train. But Nanoha made sure not to tell him that – the less her uncle knew about Mid-Childa, the easier he would be to work with.

"All right…" said Uncle Kenji finally, "we'll take you to Shibuya Station. We were planning to drive by on the way to Shinjuku anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

Why are you going to Shinjuku?" Nanoha asked, trying to keep things friendly.

"Taking Kenta to get a new uniform," growled Uncle Kenta. "All those damn letters of yours shredded up the old one and we can't have him running off to school without it."

* * *

Nanoha woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. She got up and pulled on her jeans because she didn't want to walk into Shibuya in her Barrier Jacket – she'd change on the ship. She had Raising Heart check her St. Hilde list again to make sure she had everything she needed, saw that Lucy was safely tucked into her carry-on bag, and then paced the room, waiting for the Henkens to get up. Two hours later, Nanoha's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Henken's car, Aunt Kurima had talked Kenta into sitting next to Nanoha, and they had set off.

They had reached Shibuya Station at half past ten. Uncle Kenji dumped Nanoha's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for her. Nanoha thought that was strangely kind until Uncle Kenji stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin.

"Let's look at this for a moment – Osaki, Omiya, Maebashi, Yokohama – nope, there doesn't seem to be any train heading for magic school. It looks like they haven't gotten around to building it." Nanoha was doing her best not to smile – it was funny how Uncle Kenji thought he had one-upped Nanoha.

"Have a good term," said Uncle Kenji with an even nastier smile.

He left without another word. Nanoha turned and saw the Henkens drive away. All three of them were laughing. Nanoha sighed in relief – she thought they'd never leave. She shuffled through her bag, making sure not to disturb the sleeping Lucy, and pulled out the envelope that Schach had given last time they met. According to her, Nanoha was supposed to meet the Yagamis in Shibuya Station and they would take her to Mid-Childa. But how would she find them in a crowded station?

She had searched everywhere for people that might have seemed strange and unusual by Earth standards. Then she remembered that she was in Shibuya – the whole city was filled with strange and unusual people. She met a orange-haired boy staring at the graffiti on the wall and asked if he was with the Yagamis, but he put on his headphones and tuned her out. How rude. She bumped into a fashionable redhead and her glasses wearing friend, apologizing while picking up her handmade black cat doll. She almost got run over by a skater boy and his little sister and by the time she had picked herself up, they were already too far for her to yell at.

By this time, Nanoha was trying very hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrival boards, he had ten minutes left to get on the ship to St. Hilde and she didn't know how to get there; she was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk she could barely lift, a pocket full of credits, and a fairy sleeping in her bag. The station was full of weirdos and Nanoha didn't have the slightest idea which of them could be the Yagamis. Nanoha looked close to having a meltdown until…

"**Master…**" Raising Heart said at low volume so as not to attract attention. "**Picking up Mid-Childa terminology within a ten foot radius. Possibly the targets we have been searching for.**"

Raising Heart – Nanoha knew she made the right choice in naming her despite what others said. She carefully listened and at that moment a group of people passed behind her and she caught a few words of what they were saying.

"– packed with Machlos, of course –"

Nanoha swung around. The speaker was a tall and intimidating woman with hot-pink hair tied into a high ponytail. Traveling behind her were five other girls, all a different age and appearance. The blond woman with the kindly expression was close to the scary pink-heads age while the red-headed girl with the two lengthy queues was a year younger than Nanoha. A red-headed girl with her hair tied into two pigtails and one ponytail appeared to be bullying another one with cascading silver-haired that was close to her age. The last in the group was a young girl at Nanoha's age with short, brunette hair with red x-shaped hairpins along with a yellow one beneath it. A light furred ferret was hanging by her shoulders, possibly enamored by the performance of the redhead and silver-haired teenagers.

Heart hammering, Nanoha pushed her cart after them. They stopped and so did she, just enough to hear what they were saying."

"Augh! Annoying Machlos," said the pink-haired woman. "Why did you even volunteer us to pick up someone from a Non-Administrated Planet in the first place, Shamal? We have our own problems to worry about without having to hunt down a lost child."

"You know as well as I do that it was the right thing," the blond named Shamal said. "And besides, Signum, I believe you were the one who accepted. Something about it being a knight's duty." Signum hung her head in shame – she had said that, hadn't she? "Now the thing is how to find her."

"Who cares?" the little redhead scoffed. "If I don't get to go, she shouldn't either."

"We told you before, Vita, you're not old enough yet," said Shamal, sighing in exasperation as she looked at the clock. "Now what should we do about this? We only have a few minutes left. Maybe we should…"

"Excuse me," said Nanoha, finally gathering up the courage to speak to them. "Er – are you the Yamagis?"

"Oh, you must be the one we were called to pick up," said Shamal, sounding quite relieved. "Yes, we are the Yagamis. I'm Shamal, and this is Signum and Vita." She motioned to the redhead who had the silver-haired girl in a headlock. "And that's Agito and Rein – stop that, Agito!" She pointed to the last of the group. "And that's Hayate. This is her first time at St. Hilde as well."

"Don't forget about Pabu," said Hayate, picking up the ferret. "He's super excited to see St. Hilde."

"Speaking of which, we should hurry," said Signum urgently. "We only have about five minutes until the _Arthra _leaves."

"Oh, I would have loved to make a better introduction, but oh well," said Shamal.

The Yagamis quickly pulled into a tight circle around Shamal, Signum dragging Nanoha close by her arm, and the blond woman folded her hands in a silent prayer. A celadon triangle appeared beneath their feet and Nanoha was worried that the hundreds of people in the station had noticed the magic circle. But oddly enough, no one seemed to give them a second glance as if they had become invisible to the world. Nanoha assumed this was part of Shamal's magic. Unlike Schach, Shamal didn't need to input the coordinates before them were immersed in a sea of celadon-green magic. Nanoha was happy that Signum maintained her grip around her arm – she wasn't a fan of dimensional travel.

Shamal's magic must have been stronger than Schach's because only a few minutes had passed before the wall of celadon dispersed and they had landed safely on Mid-Childa. But instead of Central 46, they appeared in what looked like an aircraft hangar packed with hundreds of people. A large silver spaceship was docked in the middle of the hanger with the loading platform lowered to let the passengers onboard. A sign floating overhead said _Arthra_, eleven o'clock. She had finally made it.

After saying thank you to Shamal and the Yagamis, Nanoha quickly made her way to the check in to deposit her trunk and was presented with her ticket and room number – everyone on the _Arthra _was assigned with a designated room number to keep things organized. Nanoha ambled her way through the chattering crowd, while animals of different shape and color wound here and there between their legs. Fays chirped to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble.

With her ticket in hand Nanoha boarded the ship and started making her way through the maze of hallways. The first few rooms were already packed with students, some pressed against the windows to wave goodbye to their families, some fighting over the arrangements. Nanoha passed a tomboyish girl who was saying, "Tea, I've lost my toad again!"

"Oh, _Subaru_," she heard the orange-haired girl sigh.

A girl with a spiky ponytail was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Anko, go on."

The girl lifted the lid of a box in her arms and the people around her shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out its large, scaly head.

Nanoha pressed on through the crowd until she reached her room – with Raising Heart giving her directions – near the front of the ship. When she entered the room, she noticed the similarities to that of a couchette car you see on trains: it had a window, a single table, and four beds in the walls. She carefully pulled the sleeping Lucy out of her backpack and set her on the pillow and started to put her bag in the empty bunk above her when the Agito walked in shortly followed by an uncertain looking Rein.

"I don't think we should bother her," said Rein. "There's no way she could be who you say she is."

"But I know I saw it," said Agito. "I saw it on her chest where her collar was down. It looked like a star – how many people have stars on their chests?"

"But you could be mistake."

"But I'm not!"

"Excuse me," Nanoha interrupted; Lucy was getting fidgety. "Can I help you with something?"

"You'll have to excuse Agito," said Rein, forcing her sibling into an apologetic bow. "She seemed to get the strange notion that you were Nanoha Takamachi."

"But I am Nanoha Takamachi."

That clearly wasn't the answer the silver-haired Yagami was expecting; Agito was grinning like a madwoman. The two girls stared at her like she was some exhibit at the zoo, and Nanoha felt herself turn red. Then, to her relief, a voice came floating down through the room's open door.

"Agito? Rein? Are you there? Shamal wants to say good bye to everyone!"

"Coming, Hayate!"

With a last look at Nanoha, Agito and Rein marched out of the room. Nanoha edged closer to the door where, half hidden, she could watch the Yagami family just down the hall and hear what they were saying. Shamal had just taken out a handkerchief.

"Hayate, you've got something on your nose."

The young brunette tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed Hayate and began rubbing the end of her nose.

"Shamal – stop it," she whined loudly.

"Aw, poor little Hayate-Chan got something on her little nosie?" said Agito.

"Shut up," said Hayate.

"Where's Signum?" said Shamal.

"She's coming now."

The oldest of the Yagami family came striding into sight. She had already changed into her Barrier Jacket (or Knight's Armor as Raising Heart said correctly). She wore a violet Qipao dress beneath a white, short-sleeved jacket, a billowing white cape clamped to her waist by metal guards, dark gloves with metal bracers, and steel boots. Raising Heart was able to identify her Armed Device as the long sword sheathed at her waist – it only served to make her appear more menacing. Nanoha also noticed a black band around her bicep with the St. Hilde coat of arms.

"I'm sorry I can't stay for long, Shamal," she said. "I have to be up front with the other Knights in a few minutes –"

"Oh, are you a _Knight_, Signum?" said Agito, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember her saying something about it," said Rein. "Once –"

"Or twice –"

"A minute –"

"All summer –"

"Oh, shut up, you two," said Signum the Knight.

"How come Signum gets new armor, anyway?" Said Agito.

"Because she earned it for being a Knight," Shamal said fondly. "All right, Signum, well, have a good term – send me a Fay when you get there." She hugged Signum and waited until the Knight was down the hall before turning to Agito and Rein. "Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more Fay telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –"

"Blown up a toilet?" We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Shamal."

"It's _not funny_. And look after Hayate."

"Don't worry, little Hayate-Chan is safe with us."

"Shut up, said Hayate again," said Hayate again. She was almost as short as Vita in comparison to the rest of her family and her nose was still pink from where Shamal had rubbed it.

"Hey, Shamal, guess what? Guess who we just saw?"

Nanoha leaned back quickly so that they couldn't see her looking.

"You know that girl we were helping on the Non-Administrated Planet? Know who she is?"

"Who?"

"_Nanoha Takamachi!_"

There was a sharp, furious yell that attracted a lot of attention.

"Are you kidding me?" yelled Vita. "That was _the _Nanoha Takamachi? How can someone like that not know a simple Dimensional Transfer spell? I'm not even in St. Hilde yet and I bet I'm smarter than her!"

"There's no need to be rude, Vita. The poor girl is probably just a little confused right now. How can you be so sure it is Nanoha Takamachi, Agito?"

"Asked her myself. Saw her scar. It's really there – like a star."

"Poor girl – no wonder she was alone, I wondered. She was so very polite when she asked for help on getting here."

"Never mind that, do you think she remembers what the Dark Queen looks like?"

The kind-faced Shamal suddenly became very stern.

"I forbid you to ask her, Agito. No, don't you dare. As though she needs reminding of that on her first day at school."

"All right, keep your shirt on."

The pilot announced over the loudspeaker that they were to be departing in one minute.

"Well, I better get going," said Shamal, giving the three girls a quick hug for good bye before heading towards the ramp, dragging the youngest Yagami off the ship; she was putting up a very admirable fight.

"Don't worry, Vita, we'll send you lots of mail."

"We'll send you an official St. Hilde toilet seat."

"_REIN!_"

"I'm just joking, Shamal."

Nanoha could hear the ramps being lifted and the _Arthra _lowly lifting off the ground. She looked out the window to see Shamal waving and Vita, apparently still on her mad rant, running to catch up to the ship until it pulled out of the hanger, then she fell back and started stomping the ground with her foot.

Nanoha watched the redhead throw her tantrum and Shamal trying to calm her until the _Arthra _began to ascend higher into the sky. The roofs of tall building flashed past the window. Nanoha felt a great leap of excitement. She didn't know where she was going – but it had to be better than what she was leaving behind.

The door to the room slid open and Nanoha bared witness to a strange sight. The person that had entered looked to be around her age based on the height, but she seemed to make an effort of hiding her identity: she covered herself in a long trench coat, an old fashioned fedora, and a pair of sunglasses. The stranger noticed Nanoha staring at her for a moment and quickly looked away. That was weird. The long-coated student quickly took the bed opposite of Nanoha and kept her back turned the entire time.

"Er – hello," said Nanoha, but the stranger didn't respond. "Er – is this your first time at St. Hilde?"

"Um…something like that." The stranger said quietly.

"So…" Nanoha continued awkwardly. "What's your name? I'm Nanoha Takamachi."

"Er – my name isn't – what did you say?"

At the mentioning of her name, the stranger turned around as quickly as possible, accidentally stepping on the corner of her trench coat. The poor girl tripped and fell on her face with a sharp yell, tossing her fedora and glasses. Nanoha immediately jumped out of her bed and grabbed the girl by the arm to help her up. At that moment, both looked at each other for the first time.

She was very pretty in Nanoha's eyes: a waterfall of beautiful, golden blond hair cascaded down her back, her skin was absolutely flawless and radiant, and her eyes – her eyes were what drew Nanoha in the most. They were the most gorgeous set of eyes Nanoha had ever seen – like a pair of shimmering rubies. The two spent the moment simply staring at each other before they both realized how awkward the whole thing was and quickly stood up.

"Um…thanks," said the blond student. "So…are you really Nanoha Takamachi?" Nanoha pulled down the collar of her shirt to show the star-shaped scar. The girl stared. "So that's where the Dark Queen –"

"Yes," said Nanoha, "but I can't remember it."

"That's probably a good thing," said the girl. "Oh, I just remembered that I haven't introduced myself. I'm Fate – Fate Testarossa. But you probably already knew that."

"Nope," said Nanoha bluntly.

"Eh?" Fate blinked surprisingly. "You mean you never heard of me? Lighting Testarossa, the youngest Pro Duelist in history?"

"I'm from a Non-Administrated Planet, so we don't get a lot of the stuff on Mid-Childa," Said Nanoha sheepishly. "Though I think I heard a couple of kids talking about you at Cranagan when I went to get my shopping done. So is that why you were wearing that weird getup – because you're famous?"

"Yeah, I've always been a bit of a fighter ever since I was born," said Fate with a soft smile. "I've been taking combat lessons from mother and big sister ever since I could crawl and mother helped me construct Bardiche when I was eight." She held out her right hand to show a black glove with a golden triangle on it. "Say hello, Bardiche."

"**Greetings, comrades of my master,**"said Bardiche in a masculine tone.

"Hi, Bardiche," said Nanoha. "I'm Nanoha and this is Raising Heart."

"**Hello, Fate Testarossa and Bardiche**." Raising Heart greeted.

"Raising Heart – that's a nice name," said Fate kindly; Nanoha was dancing her mind – take that Schach! "When I was ten, I tricked my big sister in entering me in the local dueling competition. She and mother were very angry, but I ended up winning, so they let it go. A year later, I start competing in the Pro League and here I am now."

"Wow, you're amazing, Fate-Chan!" said Nanoha in awe; Fate blushed embarrassingly. "When you say your mother and big sister, does that mean everyone in your family are mages?"

"Er – yes, I think so," said Fate. "I think mother has a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"If you're competing in the Pro League, that must mean you know a lot of magic already."

The Testarossas were clearly one of those old magical families the fair-skinned girl in Cranagan had talked about.

"If you've been living on a Non-Administrated Planet, that means you've been living with Machlos," said Fate. "What are they like?"

"Horrible – well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I had a magical family. By the way, what does your mother do? Which house is your big sister in?"

"Alicia doesn't go to St. Hilde," said Fate. For some reason, she was looking rather gloomy. "I always wanted to go to the same school as my big sister because she is so smart and hard-working. But when she got her letter to St. Hilde, she also got an acceptance letter from a school on Viazen. Apparently, she wanted to try something a little different from the rest of the family and accepted. Mother wasn't too happy about it, but didn't argue against it. Now mother is expecting me to be at the top of every class since Alicia won't be – she's always comparing the two of us. It's not going to be any easier since she's a teacher at St. Hilde."

"You're mother's a teacher? That's amazing!"

"Not exactly. Mother doesn't play favorites, especially her with own daughters. In fact, she is always extra hard on us just to make sure we're doing everything right."

"Oh – er – sorry then. But still, it must be amazing to have a whole family who are mages. Before Schach showed up, I didn't know anything about magic or my family or Stern –"

Fate shrieked and Bardiche beeped frantically.

"What?" said Nanoha.

"_You said the Dark Queen's name!_" said Fate, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I would never have thought you, of all people –"

"I'm not trying to be _brave _or anything, saying the name," said Nanoha, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn…I bet," she added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying her lately, "I bet I'm the worst one in the class."

"You won't be. There are tons of people who come from Machlos families and they lean quick enough."

While they had been talking, the _Arthra _had carried them out of Cranagan. Now they were speeding past a vast stretch of grassland filled with animals that you would never see on Earth – Raising Heart helped her identify each one. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the hallway and a smiling, dimpled woman in an attendant's uniform slid back the door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Nanoha, who hadn't had anything at breakfast, leapt to her feet with Fate following close behind, muttering about her big sister making the worst sandwiches. Nanoha had never had enough money for sweets with the Henkens, and now that she had a card full of credits she was ready to buy as many _Taiyaki _and _Uiro_ as she could have. Then she remembered that she wasn't on Earth anymore and that they didn't serve Japanese sweets. What they did serve were Miss Goldenweek's Palette Pellets, Luffy's Gum-Gum, Chocolate Devices, Tsumugi's Tea Sweets, Squid Girl's Sea Salt Ice Cream, and a number of other strange things Nanoha had never seen in her life. Not wanting to miss anything, she got some of everything and paid the woman 1264 credits.

Fate stared as Nanoha brought it all back into the room and tipped it onto her bed on top of the sleeping Lucy, who surprisingly remained asleep even after being buried.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," said Nanoha, taking a bite out of the Tea Sweet which she found to taste delightfully like German chocolate.

"Don't eat too much or you won't be able to fit into your Barrier Jacket," said Fate, laughing.

Nanoha found herself turning red at the though before smiling and laughing alongside her. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Fate-Chan, eating their way through the mountain of sweets, ice cream, and candy (Lucy still somehow managed to sleep through it all).

"What are these?" Nanoha asked Fate, holding up a pack of Chocolate Devices. "I'm not gonna bite into this and find a computer chip between my teeth, am I?" She was starting to feel that nothing would surprise her.

"No," said Fate. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Ansem the Wise."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know – Chocolate Devices have cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous people in history, mage or not. My big sister and I have collected over five hundred, but we're missing Ansem the Wise and Shazam."

Nanoha unwrapped her Chocolate Device and picked up the card. It showed a woman's face. She had glistening, golden-blond hair tied in a purple ribbon and garbed in a uniform similar to Schach's, except with purple ribbon at the neck. Underneath the picture was the name Carim Gracia."

"So _this _is Carim-Sama!" said Nanoha.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Carim-Sama!" said Fate. "Can I get another Device? My big sister will go wild if I find Ansem before her – thanks –"

Nanoha turned over her card and read:

**Carim Gracia  
****Currently Headmistress of St. Hilde**

Considered by many the greatest mage of modern times,  
Carim is particularly famous for her defeat of the Keyblade  
Master Xehanort, for her ground breaking contribution to  
Dragon Slayer Magic, and her work on alchemy with her  
partners, Edward Elric and Kisuke Urahara. Carim Gracia  
enjoys ballroom dancing and sponge diving.

Nanoha turned the card back over and saw, to her astonishment, that Carim's face had disappeared.

"She's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect her to hang around all day," said Fate. "She'll be back. No, I got Arachne again and I've got about six of her…do you want it? You can start collecting."

Fate's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Devices waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Nanoha. "But on Earth, people tend to just stay in their photos."

"I know," said Fate, unwrapping another Chocolate Device. "It's just a little something the manufacturers do to make them a little more interesting. Not all photos in Mid-Childa do that."

Nanoha stared as Carim-Sama sidled back into the picture on her card and gave a small smile. Fate was more interested in eating the Devices than looking at the cards of famous people in history, but Nanoha couldn't keep her eyes off them. Soon she had not only Carim and Arachne, but Olivie Sägebrecht, Aang, Circe, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and Zeref. She finally tore her eyes away from Anthony Druid, who was scratching his nose, to open a bag of Miss Goldenweek's Palette Pellets.

"Oh, those are loads of fun," Fate said excitedly. "When you eat one, they make you change different colors depending on which type you eat. There are simple ones like the kind that change your eyes pink or purple and some that turn your hair orange, but there are also some that can change your whole body rainbow or zebra. I once gave Alicia a pellet that turned her polka dot for an hour."

Fate picked up a green pellet, chewed it, and turned her golden hair into a viridian Mohawk.

"See what I mean – fun, right?"

They had a good time eating the palette pellets. Nanoha got a few that turned her hair from yellow, fuschia, deep lavender, and fiery-orange, some that made her eyes red like Fate's and one that gave her cat's eye, and she even dared to eat a funny red-spotted one that Fate wouldn't touch, which made her look like a giant candy cane.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields were gone. Now they were flying over think forests, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door of their room and the tomboyish girl Nanoha had passed in the hall earlier came in. Now that she had a proper chance to see her, she noticed that the girl was slightly muscular and had short, dark-purple hair. She had already put on her Barrier Jacket: a black belly shirt with a jacket that looked eerily similar to her own, a pair of light-blue shorts with a white cape clamped to her belt, a set of kneepads, dark boots, and a long, white bandanna. She looked tearful.

"Sorry," she said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, she wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Nanoha.

"Yeah," said the girl miserably. "Well, if you see him."

She left.

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything," said Fate. "But I don't know why she's so bothered about it. Toads are exactly a popular Familiar to have. Then again, I don't really have a Familiar, so I'm not one to talk." She looked back at the pile of sweets, noticing the blond Fay sticking out at the bottom. "Your Fay, is she all right?"

"Lucy?" said Nanoha, looking down at her slumbering fairy. "Yeah, she's all right – just tired. I didn't exactly let her sleep a lot last night, too excited to be going to St. Hilde. But when she's awake, she's a very good friend to have."

Fate looked like she was about to say something when the room door slid open again. The tomboy girl was back, but this time she was accompanied by a stern looking girl with her. Her bright-orange hair was tied into two pigtails by black straps and her Barrier Jacket consisted of a red and black dress with a white, sleeveless jacket over top, a white cape strapped by two intersecting belts, black gloves, white stalking, and black boots. She also had holsters on her belts, each holding a silver pistol.

"Has anyone seen a toad? My friend, Subaru, lost hers," she said with a bossy sort of voice.

"We already told her we haven't seen it," said Fate, but the girl wasn't listening, she was staring at both of them with wide eyes.

"Holy – by the Saint King – I can't believe - " she stammered.

"Tea, what's wrong?" asked Subaru.

"Subaru, do you have any idea who these people are?" said Tea at which Subaru shook her head. "Take a good look. That's Fate Testarossa, the youngest Pro Duelist in the history of the league. They say she ranked at an S+ class level when she was only ten years old and defeated the four year champion in the finals last year. And that one is Nanoha Takamachi – you can she her scar, right? – even you must have heard of her."

"Whoa, really?" Subaru asked in awe.

"Yeah," said Fate.

"That's us," Nanoha giggled.

"Sorry for geeking out like that, but we're really huge fans," said Tea, trying to control herself. "Subaru and her sisters watch Brave Duel all the time and we saw you competing last year. You were amazing – a ten year old newcomer taking on the four year champion who is three times bigger and older than you. You're a living legend. And you – " she turned to Nanoha. "Everyone knows about you – how you defeated the Queen of Darkness. You're even in books like _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and Fall of Darkness_."

"I am?" said Nanoha, feeling dazed.

"Yeah, Subaru collects everything about you," said Tea, pointing to her embarrassed friend. "She's your biggest fan. She's not usually a big reader, but whenever your name crops up, she just has to have it – her whole bedroom wall is covered in articles with your name circled in each one. Oh, that's right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Teana Lancaster and this is Subaru Nakajima."

"Hi…" said Subaru silently.

"Don't mind her – she's not good with talking to people," said Teana. "So, do either of you know which house you're going to be in yet? I've talked to some of Subaru's sisters and it sounds like Kaiser is the best house of all of them – a lot of people from that house go on to become Enforcers; I heard even Carim-Sama was in Kaiser, but I guess Hegemon wouldn't be so bad either…" The moment she stopped talking, she noticed the awkward silence that she had created and sweated. "Er – anyway, we'd better go and look for Subaru's toad. You two might want to change, by the way, I think we'll be there soon."

And she left, taking the toadless girl with her.

"Fans," said Fate finally. "You gotta love them, but they can be kinda weird."

"What house do you think you'll be in?" asked Nanoha.

"Well," said Fate. Gloom seemed to settle on her again. "Mother says our whole family has been in Material since the beginning, so that's probably where I'm gonna end up. Alicia was lucky not to go St. Hilde when she started school – you heard all the things about people in Material."

"That's the house Ste – I mean, the Dark Queen was in?"

"Yeah," said Fate. She flopped back into her bed, looking depressed. Probably hoping to deter the subject, she said, "Did you hear about what happened at Reichtum? It's all over the news, but I don't suppose you get that with the Machlos – someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Nanoha stared.

"Really? What happened to them?"

"Nothing, and that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My mother says it must have been a powerful mage or shapeshifter to sneak into Reichtum, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. Of course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case the Dark Queen is behind it."

Nanoha turned this news over in her mind. She was starting to get a prickle of fear every time the Dark Queen was mentioned. She supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Stern the Destructor" without worrying.

"What's your Riot Force Team?" Fate asked.

"Er – I don't know any," Nanoha confessed.

"What!" Fate looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world – next to Brave Duel, that is –" And she was off, explaining all about the Gadgets, the Logia, the positions of the seven players, and describing famous games she had been with her family. She was just taking Nanoha through the finer points of the game when the room door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Subaru the toadless girl, or Teana Lancaster.

Three girls entered the room, and Nanoha recognized the middle one at once: it was the fair-skinned girl from Erza Scarlet's armor shop. She was looking at Nanoha with a lot more interest than she had shown back in Cranagan.

"Is it true?" she said. "They're saying all down the ship that Nanoha Takamachi's in this room. So it's you, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Nanoha. She was looking at the other girls. Both of them were slightly taller and looked to be twins, but had noticeable differences. The redheaded one with the long ponytail was dressed in blue and looked perpetually angry despite any reason. The one with wavy-pink hair was dress in a pink version of her sister with an impish, slightly perverted smile. Both carried a sword on their backs and a pistol at their hips.

"Oh, these are the Florian Twins – Amitie and Kyrie," said the fair-skinned girl carelessly, noticing where Nanoha was looking. "And my name is Eberwein, Yuri Eberwein."

Fate gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Yuri Eberwein looked at her.

"Think my name's funny, do you? You think you're so much better just because you're famous out there. Well, let me tell you something, Testarossa, when you're in St. Hilde, you're nothing. Understand that?" She turned back to Nanoha. "You'll soon find out that some magic families are much better than others, Takamachi. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

She held out her hand to shake Nanoha's, but Nanoha didn't take it.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," she said coolly.

Yuri Eberwein didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared on her cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Takamachi," she said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as the rest of your family. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like Testarossa and that Schach, and it'll rub off on you."

Both Nanoha and Fate stood up.

"Say that again," said Fate.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Yuri sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Nanoha, more bravely than she felt, because Amitie and Kyrie were bigger than them and had two weapons as opposed to their one.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, girls? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

Amitie reached towards the Chocolate Devices next to Nanoha – Fate leapt forward, but before she'd had so much as touched Amitie, Amitie let out a horrible yell. Lucy had finally woken from her nap and was hanging off Amitie's finger, her tiny teeth sunk deep into Amitie's knuckle – Yuri and Kyrie backed away as Amitie swung Lucy around and around, howling, and when Lucy finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more biting Fay lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they heard footsteps, because a second later, the youngest of the Yagamis had come in.

"What's going on in here?" Hayate said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Nanoha picking up Lucy carefully.

"I think she's been knocked out," Nanoha said to Fate. She looked closer at Lucy. "No – I don't believe it – she's gone back to sleep."

And so she had.

"You met Yuri before?" asked Fate. Nanoha explained about their meeting in Cranagan. "I've heard of her family. They were some of the first to come back to our side after the Dark Queen disappeared. Said they had been mind controlled. Big sister doesn't believe it. She says the Yuri's mother didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." She turned to Hayate, just now noticing her. "Oh, I'm sorry, can we help you with something?"

Hayate squeaked. They might have been able to talk easily before, but now that she knew who Nanoha was, she seemed a little shy and embarrassed, which only doubled with the famous Fate Testarossa in the room. Now that she had a better look at her, Nanoha noticed that Hayate was wearing her Knight Armor. A black dress with golden fastenings, a white, black, and gold coat over top, black gloves, a black cape held at her waist by golden plates, black boots, and an adorable, white puffy hat perched on her head.

The youngest Yagami turned red with embarrassment under Nanoha's stare.

"Um – um – I thought you might want to know that we – we should be arrive very soon. I just talked to the pilot and it should only be a couple of minutes. So um – I just thought you might want to know."

And she took off down the hall with her hands covering her burning face.

"Like I said – Fans," said Fate. "Anyway, she's right. We should be arriving at St. Hilde very soon, so we should change into our Barrier Jackets before we get off." She held her Device in front of her. "Let's go, Bardiche."

"Raising Heart, if you please." Said Nanoha.

**STAND-BY READY! SET-UP!**

The room was consumed in blinding flashes of pink and yellow before Nanoha and Fate's normal clothing were instantly replaced by their customized Barrier Jackets. Fate's was black a resembled a swimsuit with pink skirt and several maroon belts intersecting, a pair of gloves, laced shoes over her long stockings, and a high-collared cloak. Her Device, Bardichi, had resumed its natural form which was shaped like a halberd.

Nanoha's Barrier jacket was a stark contrast from Fate's. Her Barrier jacket was a simple dress of white and blue that shared a similar style with her elementary school uniform, only the jacket was thicker for extra protection, the wrists were protected by blue guards, black gloves, and a pair of white shoes. Raising Heart reassembled itself much in the similar way it had in Shari's shop and gently landed in Nanoha's open hands.

When they had finished, a voice echoed through the loudspeakers: "We will be reach St. Hilde in five minutes' time. Please leave your belongings in your designated rooms; they will be taken to the school separately."

Nanoha's stomach lurched with nerves and Fate, she saw, looked pale. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging through the hallway.

The _Arthra _began its slow descent and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the exit ramp and out on to a tiny wooden dock in the middle of the sea. Nanoha shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Nanoha heard a familiar voice: "First years! First year over here! All right there, Nanoha?"

Schach beamed at her through the sea of students.

"C'mon, follow me – anymore first years? Watch your step now! First years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Schach off the docks and down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path through the forest. Nobody spoke much as they rustled through the bushes and the leaves crunched underneath their feet. Subaru, who kept losing her toad, sniffed once or twice.

"You'll get your first sight of St. Hilde in a second," Schach called over her shoulder, "Just around the bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The forest path had open to a wide, sweeping field that ascended into a steep hill. Perched on top of the hill was a vast structure that looked like it had started off a simple church but then had expanded into a vast castle. Nanoha remembered when Raising Heart told her that St. Hilde once started off as the Saint Church founded by Olivie Sägebrecht to worship the Belken religion until the Four Founders converted it into a school for mages.

"Hey, Erio, Caro!" Schach suddenly called.

"Hi, Schach!"

Nanoha and the other students looked over to the edge of the forest where a red-haired boy and a pink haired girl their own age were using towels to wipe down what looked like a massive white lizard. It was only a moment before Nanoha realized that the 'lizard' had wings instead of feet. It suddenly struck her – that was a dragon, a real, living, breathing dragon! Despite what Nanoha had expected, the dragon didn't seem as dangerous as she had initially believed; that was before the dragon sneezed a puff of flames.

"Is Friedrich all right?" asked Schach in concern.

"Yeah, he's fine." The girl named Caro said. "He just has a bit of a fever, so we're wiping him down and feeding him some magma stew – it's good for his colon."

"Taking the first years to the church?" The redheaded boy, Erio, asked.

"Yeah, they're going to be sorted soon, so you might want to hurry a bit," Said Schach. "After the sorting is done, I'll make Fried some of his favorite sheep liver casserole."

"Thanks, Schach," said Caro thankfully.

"Catch ya in a minute," called Erio.

Schach continued to lead the student up the hill, having to shove a few that were standing around and staring at the dragon including Nanoha. This was unbelievable. She had just seen a dragon up-close being tended by children no older than herself. The world of magic was much more outrageous than she had ever imagined. Schach led the group up the steep trail until they reached halfway up the hill.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Schach aloud, shuffling through the students to reach Subaru. "Is this your toad, by any chance? I found it as we were leaving the docks."

"Gamakichi!" cried Subaru blissfully, holding out her hands. Then they climbed up the remainder of the trail until the hill began to level out and the smooth grass was replaced by a cobblestone path up to the stone steps as they clambered around a huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?

Schach raised her fist and knocked three times on the church doors.

* * *

**For the love of the Saint King, I am finally finished with this! Spending hours typing can really cramp up your fingers, but I just can't get away from the computer! Anyway, the introductions are finally out of the way, St. Hilde is finally within reach, and all important sorting is just waiting. I can promise that from this point, many things will change including a surprise plot twist and a new, unexpected enemy. Until I choose to reveal this, please keep reading.**


	7. The Goddess of Destiny

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Goddess of Destiny**

The door swung open at once. A tall, brunette woman in a church-affiliated Barrier Jacket stood there. She had a very stern face and Nanoha's first impression was that this woman was not someone to cross.

"The first years, Linith-Sensei," said Schach.

"Thank you, Schach. I will take them from here. I believe you have a dragon that needs tending."

"Better get to gutting the sheep," Schach grunted.

As she left the group of first years, Linith-Sensei pulled the door open wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Henken's house in it. The polished stone walls were lit with canisters of burning-white spheres, the ceiling was too high to make out, a magnificent marble staircase on the opposite side led to the upper floors, and in the heart of the grand foyer was a statue erected of Olivie Sägebrecht garbed in ancient Belken armor.

They followed Linith-Sensei across the flagged stone floor. Nanoha could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to their right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Linith-Sensei showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather close together than they usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to St. Hilde Academy of Magic," said Linith-Sensei. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within St. Hilde. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Kaiser, Hegemon, Hades, and Material. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced many outstanding mages throughout history. While you are at St. Hilde, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. And at the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all try to clean yourselves up and make yourselves presentable as much as possible while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Subaru's shirt, which was much too short to be considered decent, and on Hayate's smudged nose. Nanoha nervously tried to straighten her pigtails as much as possible – Fate-Chan was lucky to have naturally straight hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Linith-Sensei. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Nanoha swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" she asked Fate to which she shrugged clueless.

"I heard they make you take some kind of test," said Hayate directly to Nanoha's right. "Agito said it hurts a lot, but I think she was joking – I think."

Nanoha's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But she didn't know any magic yet – what on Mid-Childa would she have to do? She hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. She looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. Everyone one except Fate-Chan, that is. If she wasn't scared for her future, Nanoha would have found this an admirable trait. No one else was talking much except Teana Lancaster, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she had learned and wondering which one she would need. Nanoha tried hard not to listen to her. She had never been more nervous, never, not even when she had to take a school report home to the Henkens saying that she had somehow burned her teacher's wig to ashes from across the room. She kept her eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Linith-Sensei would come back and lead her to her doom.

Then something happened that made her jump a foot in the air – several people behind her screamed.

"What the –?"

She gasped. So did the people around her. About twenty men and women dressed in black Shihakushō with swords strapped to their hips had just streamed through the back wall. They looked like every day humans but the fact that they could pass through the walls without a moment's hesitation made it easy to see that they were something more.

"Those are Shinigami," said Fate as everyone looked to her for an explanation. "Spirits of the departed who maintain a semi-physical form and guard the souls of the living and the dead. They're typically invisible to most non-magical people. I heard that Carim-Sama personally requested the Gotei 13's captain of Squad 10, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and captain of Squad 2, Suì-Fēng, to create a division to act as the main security for the school."

Shinigami? Gotei 13? This was getting more and more complicated than Nanoha could wrap her mind around. The group of spirit soldiers were walking across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a redheaded woman with inhumanely large breasts was saying: "Forgive and forget, I always say, we should give the poor guy a second chance –"

"I've told you before, Rangiku, we have been giving Loki all the chances he deserves. He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not even a departed soul in a sense – wait a minute, what are you all doing here?"

The Shinigami that had noticed the first years was the youngest of the lot with snow white hair and wearing a white _haori _over his uniform with the number 10 written on the back. Nobody answered.

"Ooh, new students!" said the woman named Rangiku, knocking the little Shinigami aside with her breasts. "You all are about to be Sorted, right?" Nobody answered this time as all focus was directed at the woman's chest – the boys stared and the girls glared. "I hope I see some of your in Hades! That was my old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

Linith-Sensei had returned. One by one, the Shinigami marched obediently after the shortest soldier through the opposite wall – Rangiku winked seductively before disappearing.

"Now, form a line," Linith-Sensei told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had been turned to lead, Nanoha got in line behind a boy with fiery-red hair, with Fate behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Nanoha had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place existed. It was lit by thousands and thousands of little white balls that were floating in midair like miniature suns over the four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with shimmering silver plates and cups. At the top of the hall, beneath the four stained glasses depicting the four founders of St. Hilde, was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Linith Sensei led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked very intense underneath the light of the miniature suns. Dotted here and there among the students, the Shinigami stood like sentinels. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Nanoha looked up and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's an advanced program placed in the ceiling to make it look like the sky outside," whispered Fate. "Mother says it was placed there by Claus G. S. Ingvalt, founder of Hegemon."

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open to the heavens.

Nanoha looked down again as Linith-Sensei silently retrieved a small burlap sack without the students noticing and presented in to the first years. From within the sack, she retrieved a large blue crystal. This crystal was noticeably old and lacked any luster with the number of scratches across the surface. Not the kind of thing you would expect see in a sleek school like St. Hilde.

_Maybe they had to try and use it like a crystal ball,_ Nanoha thought wildly, that seemed like the sort of thing – noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the crystal; she stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the crystal floated unaided out of Linith-Sensei's hands. The old jewel glowed with a pleasant blue light and appearing like a silent ghost was a beautiful blond woman dressed in white. The lovely goddess floated before the students for a short moment and then she began to sing – her voice like a chorus of angels.

"_Oh, you may think I'm just pretty,  
But don't judge what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter jewel than me.  
You can keep them sparkling,  
Whether they're large or small,  
For I am the Goddess Cosmos  
And I can trump them all.  
There is nothing in your head  
That Cosmos cannot see,  
So step forward and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Kaiser,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Kaiser apart;  
You might belong to Hades,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hades are true  
and unafraid of toil;  
Or yet wise old Hegemon,  
If you are a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Material  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So kneel before me! Don't be Afraid!  
Just leave the rest to me!  
You are in safe hands  
For I'm your Goddess of Destiny!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the Goddess finished her song. She gracefully bowed to each of the four tables and folded her hands before turning back to the first years.

"So we've just got to kneel in front of a crystal!" Nanoha heard Hayate mutter angrily. "I'll kill Agito, she was going on about wrestling a Kaiju!"

Nanoha smiled weakly. Yes, kneeling in front of a goddess was a lot better than having to do a spell, but she did wish they could have tried it somewhere without everyone watching. The Goddess Cosmos seemed to be asking for a lot; Nanoha didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only Cosmos had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for her.

Linith-Sensei now stepped forward holding a large roll of paper.

"When I call your name, you will kneel before the Goddess Cosmos and wait for her to sort you," she said. "Cheney, Rogue!"

A gloomy-looking boy with dark hair stepped out of line, kneeled in front of the goddess, and the blond woman placed her hands on either side of his head, and closed her eyes to focus. A moment had passed until –

"MATERIAL!" shouted the goddess.

The table on the far right cheered and clapped as the symbol of Material – A dark gear – appeared on the left shoulder of Rogue Cheney's Barrier Jacket before he went to the Material table. Perhaps it was Nanoha's imagination, after all she had heard about Material, but she thought they looked like an unpleasant group.

"Eberwein, Yuri!"

Yuri swaggered forward when her name was called and got her wish at once: the goddess didn't even have to touch her head before she screamed, "MATERIAL!" Yuri went to join Rogue and the others at the Material table, looking particularly pleased with herself.

"Éclair, Larxene" also joined Material along with the Florian Twins – it was starting to look like all the students would be in Material until "Kinney, Laura" was Sorted in Hades. The table second from the left clapped this time; several Hades stood up to shake hands with Laura as she joined them with a red flame mark on her chest until she muttered a silent threat to them and they inched away from her.

"Lancaster, Teana!"

The orange-haired fangirl from the _Arthra _took a step forward, looking rather stiff with her movements. She awkwardly marched in front of the goddess and dropped to her knees so hard that she actually shuddered from the brief flash of pain. Cosmos smiled at the nervous child and gently placed her hands on Teana's head. It wasn't a moment before –

"KAISER!"

Teana looked like she was ready to faint when the table on the far left exploded into cheers and the symbol of Kaiser – a cross of seven colors – appeared on her jacket. Teana must have been quite relieved when she failed to notice a few Kaisers pulling her toward her seat and "Lea, Axel" followed her to Kaiser.

Subaru Nakajima, the girl who kept losing her toad, was called next and she tripped on her own shoelaces on her way to greet the Cosmos. The goddess took a long moment to decide with Subaru. When she finally shouted, "KAISER", Subaru ran into the crystal on the way to her table, leading to a full five minutes of trying to retrieve it and calming the miffed goddess before moving on to "Maximoff, Thomas" and "Maximoff, William", both of whom went to Hegemon – a mint-green shield appeared on their uniforms.

Nanoha was definitely starting to feel sick now. She remembered being picked for teams during gym at her old school. She had always been last to be chosen, not because she was no good, but because no one wanted Kenta to think they liked her.

They were starting to move quicker down the list – more than half the people had been called now.

"Moon"…, "Nightfall"…, "Olietta"…," then another pair of twins "Pendragon and Pendragon"…, then an unusually large girl named "Ross, Elizabeth" –

Sometimes, Nanoha noticed, Cosmos shouted out the house at once, but at others she took a little while to decide. "Salazar, Rex," a boy with Hispanic heritage at the end of the line, kneeled to the goddess for a whole minute before she had declared him a Kaiser and found a seat between Agito and Rein.

A horrible thought struck Nanoha while "Struass, Lisanna" was placed in Hades, as horrible thoughts always do when you're nervous. What if she wasn't chosen at all? What if she just sat there with the goddess remaining undecided for ages, until Linith-Sensei pulled her away from the crystal and said there had obviously been a mistake and she had better get back on the _Arthra_? Well, she was about to find out when Linith-Sensei reached the name she had been dreading to hear.

"Takamachi, Nanoha!"

As Nanoha stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"_Takamachi_, did she say?"

"_The_ Nanoha Takamachi?"

Nanoha kneeled in front of Cosmos like others had done before her and when the goddess touched her, the peering eyes and loud whispers just seemed to fade out they were miles away – they were in a world where it was just her and Cosmos alone. Nanoha stared into the shimmering sapphires at were the goddesses eyes. Then the goddess spoke to her.

"Hmm," said Cosmos in a mystical tone. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh, my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting…..So where shall I put you?"

Nanoha gripped her fists on a bundle of her jacket and thought, _Not Material, not Material_.

"Not Material, eh?" said the golden goddess. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Material will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that – no? Well, if you're sure – better be KAISER!"

Nanoha heard Cosmos shout the last word to the whole hall. She stood up as the symbol of the Kaiser house flashed onto the left side of her Barrier Jacket and she walked shakily toward the Kaiser table. She was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Material; she hardly noticed that she was getting the loudest cheer yet. Signum the Knight got up and shook her hand vigorously, while Agito pulled Rein on top of the table and started doing a jig, shouting "We got Nanoha! We got Nanoha!" Nanoha sat down to the right of the white haired Shinigami she had seen earlier. The young spirit patted her on the back, sending a surprisingly cold chill down her spine like she had been pushed into a snowstorm.

She could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest her sat Erio, Caro, and Schach, who caught her eye and gave her a thumbs up. Nanoha grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large white marble chair, sat Carim Gracia. Nanoha recognized her at once from the card she had gotten out of the Chocolate Device on the _Arthra_. Nanoha spotted Jellal-Sensei, too, the tattooed man from Central 46. He looked very peculiar in his armored Barrier Jacket in contrast to his street clothes.

After Nanoha's induction, "Tennyson, Benjamin" didn't get much of a reception when he was sorted into Kaiser. But when "Testarossa, Fate" was called, the wave of murmurs had returned. Two celebrities in one Sorting – that must have been a school record. As Fate kneeled at the feet of the goddess, she looked distinctly pale and glancing in the direction of the teacher's table before Cosmos entered her thoughts. It took a lot longer for Fate to be determined than anyone else – both the goddess and the student looked very bothered. Nanoha began to wonder if she and Fate would still be friends if she were sorted into Material.

"KAISER!"

The Kaiser table was practically screaming themselves hoarse – they had stolen two famous celebrities in a row. Fate looked even more pale than before but very happy. Her legs were a little wobbly when she got up and staggered to the Kaiser table where Nanoha had saved her friend a seat. The golden haired duelist must have been more nervous than she thought. Fate-Chan barely took her seat before she passed out.

"Er – Fate-Chan?" said Nanoha, trying to poke the poor girl awake.

And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Uchiha, Sasuke", a handsome looking boy with unusually shaped eyes, joined Yuri at the Material table. "Uzumaki, Naruto" became a member of Hades and then it was Hayate's turn. She was pale green by now. Nanoha and Fate – having been poked to death – joined the Yagamis in praying for her and a second later Cosmos had shouted, "KAISER!"

Signum, Agito, and Rein were on their feet clapping harder than anyone else as Hayate collapsed in the seat next to her sisters.

"You finally made it, Hayate," said Signum proudly.

With the Sorting finished, Cosmos bowed one final time, vanished into her crystal, and was taken away by Linith-Sensei. Nanoha looked down at her empty silver plate. She had only just realized how hungry she was. The tea sweets seemed ages ago.

Carim Gracia had gotten to her feet. She was beaming at the students, her arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased her more than to see them all here.

"Welcome!" she said. "Welcome to a new year at St. Hilde! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Bobble! Aardvark! Pork! Six! Thank you!"

She sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered. Nanoha didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is she – you know – a little nuts?" she asked Signum uncertainly.

"Nuts might be a strong word for it," said Signum. "She's a little eccentric and a bit of an oddity certainly, but I wouldn't say she's nuts. Carim-Sama is what you call a natural born genius. She may act strange sometimes, but it's difficult to understand genius. By the way, you want some potatoes, Nanoha?"

Nanoha's mouth fell open. In the moment that she had looked away, the dishes in front of her had been piled with food. She had never seen so many things she would have liked to eat on one table. There was Japanese food like tempura, yakisoba, yakitori, udon, and rice. Then there were foods from other cultures such as roast beef, damper, kimchi bokkeumbap, gyros, feijoada and pastel, gazpacho, tamales, chow mein, and many other things that Nanoha couldn't even begin to name – she had Raising Heart helping her identify everything to see if it was edible.

The Henkens had never exactly starved Nanoha, but she had never been allowed to eat as much as she wanted. Kenta had always taken anything that Nanoha really wanted, even if it made him sick. Nanoha piled her plate with a bit of everything for the cultural experience of it all, but she was deathly afraid of the unsavory looking balls of flesh that Raising Heart called haggis. It was all delicious.

"I take it you are enjoying yourself," said the white haired Shinigami; his voice sounded more mature for his age.

"Oh, yes, it all looks very good," said Nanoha with a small smile. "Um…not to be rude…but who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself," said the Shinigami. "I am Tōshirō Hitsugaya, captain of Squad 10 and one of the divisional leaders for St. Hilde's security force. While I wasn't particularly excited to become school security, Carim-Sama made a valid argument about protecting the youth of today. And it isn't so bad since I get to see the students carrying on the good name of my old house Kaiser."

"That sounds really weird coming from a little guy like you," said Hayate. Captain Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched irritably. "Agito and Rein say you aren't really a captain because you're still just a kid, little Shiro."

"It's Tōshirō!" Captain Hitsugaya screamed. The temperature in the Great Hall suddenly dropped by a good twenty degrees before the diminutive captain caught Carim Gracia staring at him and quickly composed himself. "And anyway, age means nothing to a Shinigami. It is only through intense training and keeping a steady mind that even the youngest can achieve the rank of Captain."

"He's right, you know," Fate said as she cut her steak. "I heard from my big sister that Captain Hitsugaya is one of those natural born geniuses like Carim-Sama and he is the youngest Shinigami in history to ever reach the level of Captain. And I even heard that he hasn't even reach his full potential yet." Fate turned to small Shinigami with a spark in her eye. "I'd like to fight against you some day."

"I'll look forward to it," Captain Hitsugaya grinned. "So – new Kaisers. I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year. Kaiser has never gone so long without winning. In the six years I have been stationed here, Material has won the cup every single year. Captain Suì-Fēng is usually more mature than that, but she never misses an opportunity to remind me of our failure – she used to be in Material, you know."

Nanoha looked over at the Material table and had only just noticed the other Shinigami wearing the white _haori _like Captain Hitsugaya, only the number on her back was 2. She was rather petite compared to the other Shinigami and her short black hair was bound in two white braids ending in a pair of golden rings. She was walking by Yuri Eberwein and the Florian Twins, all of whom were talking very loudly until Captain Suì-Fēng silenced them with a heart stopping glare. Something told Nanoha that the Captain was even stricter than Linith-Sensei and she would be punished severely for even looking at her funny.

"A lot of people seem to be afraid of her," said Teana after noticing the Shinigami stiffen up when the Captain walked by.

"She scares almost everyone in the Gotei 13," said Captain Hitsugaya. "The only person who is scarier than Captain Suì-Fēng is Captain Unohana…and that's a memory I'd rather not relive."

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the deserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, black forest cake, vanilla custard, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, apple charlotte, strawberries, Jell-O, and Wagashi….

As Nanoha helped herself to a slice of black forest cake, the talk turned to their families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Axel Lea. "My dad is a Machlos. Mom didn't tell him she was a Burner – that a mage who specializes in fire magic – until after they were married. I wish I could have seen the look on his face when he found out."

Others laughed.

"What about you, Subaru?"

"Me and my sisters are adopted," Said Subaru. "Our dad is a Machlos who works in the TSAB's Ground Force Battalion 108 and our mom used to in the Investigation Unit. All my sisters have already graduated from St. Hilde: Gin-nee is working in Criminal Investigations, Nove has her own training studio, Wendi is an Enforcer Aide, and Dieci and Cinque work at Special Duty Section 6."

"Subaru's family was worried that she would end up a Machlos," said Teana teasingly. "Wendi kept trying to catch her off guard and force some magic out of her – she even pushed her of the end of Grandlow Pier once, she nearly drowned – but nothing happened until she turned eight. Nove came home for dinner one day, and she was in a bad mood because one of her students had flooded the studio and it would take a week to repair all the damages. Subaru bumped into her and Nove looked ready to beat the stuffing out of her. But then Subaru punched back – she knocked Nove off her feet and blasted a hole in the ceiling. I don't think I had ever seen Nove or Dieci cry before – they were so happy for Subaru because they thought she didn't have enough magic to come here. Ginga was so pleased that she bought Subaru her toad – which she lost again."

"Gamakichi!"

On Nanoha's other side, Signum Yagami and Fate had taken a liking to each other and were talking about lessons ("I want to get started right away. There's so much to learn. I'm particularly interested in Alchemy, you know, the ability to something into something else. Of course, it's supposed to be very difficult –"; "If you're half as good as you are in Brave Duel, you'll do just fine. You'll start off with something small like turning matches into needles –")

Nanoha, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Erio was carrying a sleeping Caro off to bed. Schach was drinking deeply from her cup. Linith-Sensei was talking to Carim. Jellal-Sensei was locked in a deep conversation with a woman Nanoha was unfamiliar with. Her grayish-purple hair was long and unkempt with a few bangs hanging off to cover her left eye. Her Barrier Jacket consisted of lengthy purple robes that showed portions of her hips, naval, and chest bound by black straps, purple gloves with clasps, a dark chocker, and a billowing, high collar cape.

It happened suddenly. The menacing-looking teacher looked past Jellal's shoulder straight into Nanoha's eye – and a sharp, white-hot pain shot across the scar on Nanoha's chest like heartburn.

"Ouch!" Nanoha slapped her hands over her chest.

"What is it?" asked Signum.

"N-nothing."

The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Nanoha had gotten from the teacher's look – a feeling that she didn't like Nanoha at all.

"Who's that teacher talking to Jellal-Sensei?" she asked Signum.

"So that his name, is it? I've been wondering since I've never seen him before – Carim-Sama must have hired him as the new teacher. As for who he's talking to, that is Presea Testarossa. She teaches Scientific Research and she's very good at it, but everyone knows she wants to teach Tactical Combat Instruction. She knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts."

"Testarossa –" muttered Nanoha. "Fate-Chan, is that your mother?"

But Lightning Testarossa was unusually focused on her vanilla pudding. In fact, it looked like she was trying her hardest not to look up at the High Table and see her mother's disapproving stare. Her whole family had been in Material and Fate had broken tradition – she was petrified to think how her mother felt about this. Nanoha watched Presea for a while, but Presea didn't look at her again.

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Carim got to her feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we have all been fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First, allow me to introduce our new Tactical Combat Instructor, Jellal Fernandes, who has delightly agreed to teach for one year at St. Hilde."

Jellal stood up and waved to the students for a moment while they politely clapped before sitting back down. Carim continued.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. Only our gamekeeper, Schach, and our Dragon Tamers, Erio Mondial and Caro Ru Lushe, have been given explicate permission to enter. And I hope that a few of our older students will remember this as well."

Carim's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of Agito and Rein.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Castle, our caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Riot Force trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Corrado-Sensei. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the sixth-floor corridor on the left-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

Nanoha laughed, but she was one of the few who did.

"She's not serious, is she?" she muttered to Signum.

"Must be," said Signum, frowning at Carim. "It's strange because she usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest is full of dangerous beasts including the dragons, everyone knows that. I do think she might have told the Knights a little bit, at least."

"That is all that I wish to say to you except to enjoy your stay here at St. Hilde," said Carim with a tender, almost motherly smile. "Now off you trot!"

The Kaiser first years followed Signum through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Nanoha's legs felt like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy to even be surprised that walls and floors changed frequently into different patterns, or that Signum had successfully calculated when each stone was about to change and led them through the corridors without much hindrance. They climbed more staircases and hidden tunnels, yawning and dragging their feet, and Nanoha was just wondering how much farther they had to go until they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Signum took a step toward them, they started throwing themselves at her. The walking sticks hardly stood a chance as Signum sliced all of them cleanly down the middle – she had moved so fast it didn't even look like she had drawn her sword.

"Loki," Signum whispered to the first years. "The God of Mischief." She raised her voice, "Loki – show yourself!" A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. "Do you want me to get Captain Suì-Fēng?"

There was a pop, and a dark-haired man dressed in green and gold with a golden horned helmet appeared, floating cross-legged, making the walking sticks dance in the air with a wave of his finger.

"Ooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Little first years! What fun!"

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.

"Go away, Loki, or Captain Suì-Fēng will hear about this, I mean it!" barked Signum.

Loki stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Subaru's head. They heard him zoom away, rattling the coats of armor as he passed.

"You'll want to watch out for Loki," said Signum, as they set off again. "Captain Suì-Fēng is the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to Captain Hitsugaya or the Knights. Here we are."

They came to a stop at the end of the corridor, which was a blank wall with the exception of a large, red jewel embedded into the surface that reminded Nanoha an awful lot like Raising Heart. Just like her Device, the jewel flashed every time it spoke.

"Password?" it said.

"Caput Draconis," said Signum.

The large jewel flashed in acceptance of the password and the bricks along the wall began to slide away to create an archway into the room behind it. They all scrambled through it – Subaru tripped on her laces again – and found themselves in the Kaiser common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy arm chairs, a burning fire place, a shelf of trophies and medals, and, for some odd reason, a billiards table in the corner.

Signum directed the boys through one door to their dormitory and the girls through another. At the top of a spiral staircase – they were obviously in one of the towers – they found their beds at last: five canopy beds hung with different colored velvet curtains. Nanoha took the pink bed, Fate took the yellow, Hayate took white, Subaru took blue, and Teana took orange. Their luggage had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.

"Ah, that was a good meal," Hayate sighed pleasurably. "No, Pabu, get off! Oh no, he's chewing my sheets!"

Nanoha turned over in her bed and was going to ask Fate if she'd had any of the apple tarts, but she fell asleep almost at once.

Perhaps Nanoha had eaten a bit too much, because she had a very strange dream. She was kneeling before Cosmos once more with the goddess's hands clamped tightly on her head, telling her she must transfer to Material at once, because it was her destiny. Nanoha told the goddess she didn't want to be in Material; Cosmos hands went lower and closed around her throat. Nanoha tried to pull her hands away but her grip was tightening painfully – and there was Yuri, laughing at her as she struggled for air – then Yuri turned into the dark-looking teacher, Presea, whose laugh became high and cold – there was a burst of vermillion light and Nanoha woke, sweating and shaking.

She rolled over and fell asleep again, and when she woke the next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.

* * *

**Nanoha and the gang have finally been sorted, so now we can move on the more interesting parts of the stories: the classes. I think many of you will be familiar with some of the characters that have been seen so far and there are still more to come. And keep an eye out for the hidden villain in the story – anyone that can figure it out will win a prize! …Ok, not really.**


	8. The Masters of Magic

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Masters of Magic**

"There, look."

"Where?"

"The one in white next to Lightning Testarossa."

"Do you think they're friends?"

"Did you see her face?"

"Did you see her scar?"

Whispers followed Nanoha from the moment she left her dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoes to get a look at her, or doubled back to pass her in the hallways again, staring. Nanoha wished they wouldn't, because she was trying to concentrate on finding her way to classes.

Though it was originally built as a church, St. Hilde was much larger inside than it appeared out. There were three hundred and sixty-seven different corridors within St. Hilde and they were constantly changing: wide, narrow, long, short, some that led somewhere different on a Friday, and some with vanishing floor tiles halfway through that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. Fate once told her that the founders build the school as a giant puzzle for the students to solve so that it would help improve their focus and memory; Nanoha just thought it was one giant headache.

The Shinigami didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them walked through a door you were trying to open. Captain Suì-Fēng was quickly acknowledged as the scariest person in St. Hilde after she mercilessly beat a rotund Shinigami and dumped him in the lake for getting crumbs on her desk. She may be small, but she was quick and precise. Captain Hitsugaya, on the other hand, was kind, soft-spoken, and always happy to point new Kaisers in the right direction. The only thing that really bothered him was finding Rangiku regularly shirking her duties to go off drinking and waking up half-naked in his office.

But Loki, the God of Mischief, was worthy two locked doors and a tricky hallway if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop trash cans on your head, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Even worse than Loki, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Frank Castle, who was generally named by the students as the Punisher. Nanoha and Fate had managed to get on the wrong side of him on their first morning. Punisher found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the sixth floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening them at gunpoint when they were rescued by Jellal-Sensei, who happened to be passing by.

Punisher owner a Rottweiler named Max, a meaty, death-colored creature with cold, merciless eyes just like Punisher's. He patrolled the hallways alone. Break a rule in front of him, put just one toe out of line, and he'd amble away for Punisher, who would appeared, guns loaded, seconds later. Punisher knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Yagami Twins) and could pop up suddenly as any of the Shinigmai. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Max a good kick.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Nanoha quickly found out, than just waving around your Device and saying a few funny words.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the church to learn Environmental Studies, with an eccentric man in old, feudal armor called Hashirama Senju, where they learned unique properties of all the strange plants and fungai, found out how they worked in their natural habitat, and understood how they were used in modern medicine.

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a Shinigami. Chōjirō Sasakibe was indeed very old that many students suspect he had died while falling asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up the next morning to teach, never noticing that he had left his original body behind. Sasakibe droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

Professor Franken Stein, the Mana teacher, was a creepy middle-aged man that matched his appearance with his name: a white lab coat, plenty of stitches, and a large screw in his head that he turned on occasions. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Nanoha's name he quickly forgot the rest of the class and asked politely if he could dissect her.

Linith-Sensei was again different. Nanoha had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Alchemy is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at St. Hilde," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she clapped her hands together, changed her desk into a tree, and repeated the motion to change it back. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing furniture into plants for a long time. After going over and breaking down the mathematic formula, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Fate had made any difference her match; Linith-Sensei showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Fate a proud smile.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Tactical Combat Instruction with the new teacher, Jellal Fernandes, and they weren't disappointed. During his first lesson, Jellal-Sensei had demonstrated his unique affinity for Heavenly Body Magic against a small squad of practice dummies and disintegrated them before the students could so much as blink. And he did this all while wearing his heavily armored Barrier Jacket, which everyone said was given to him by his girlfriend, Erza Scarlet from Cranagan. Jellal taught them many combat scenarios he had used in the past and even told them the story of his battle against a Dragon Slayer at some place called the Tower of Heaven. But when Rex Salazar asked eagerly how the battle had played out, Jellal-Sensei went pink and started talking about the weather. He couldn't have made it any more obvious.

Nanoha was very relieved to find out that she wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Machlos families and, like her, hadn't had any idea that they were mages. There was so much to learn that even people from magic families like Hayate Yagami didn't have much of a head start.

Friday was an important day for Nanoha and Fate. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What have we got today?" Nanoha asked Fate as she poured globs of syrup on her pancakes.

"Double Scientific Research with the Material," said Fate, going pale as she always did when her mother was involved. "Mother is Head of Material House. They say she always favors them – I'm her daughter and I'm in Kaiser, so she'll be twice as hard on me."

"Wish Linith favored us," said Nanoha. Linith-Sensei was head of Kaiser House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them huge piles of homework the day before.

Just then, the mail arrived. Nanoha had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred Fay had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping packages and letters onto their laps.

Lucy hadn't brought Nanoha anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nuzzle her cheek and have a bit of French toast before going off to sleep in the Southern Tower with the other school Fay. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the jam and the sugar bowl and dropped a note on Nanoha's plate. Nanoha tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:

_Dear Nanoha,_

_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? Erio and Caro should be done with their duties around that time, so I'm hoping to introduce you. I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Lucy._

_Schach_

Nanoha borrowed a pen from Fate, scribbled _yes, please, see you later _on the back of the note, and sent Lucy off again.

It was lucky that Nanoha had tea with Schach to look forward to, because the Scientific Research lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to her so far.

At the start-of-term banquet, Nanoha had gotten the idea that Fate's mother, Presea Testarossa, disliked her. By the end of the first Scientific Research lesson, she knew she had been wrong. Presea didn't dislike Nanoha – she _hated _her.

Scientific Research lessons took place in the lowest levels of the castle. It was colder here than up in the higher levels, and would have been quite creepy enough without the picked animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Presea, like Professor Stein, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Professor Stein, she paused at Nanoha's name.

"Ah, yes," she said softly, "Nanoha Takamachi. Our new – _celebrity._"

Yuri Eberwein and her friends the Florian Twins sniggered behind their hands. Nanoha found it quite unfair that when she reached Fate's name, she didn't make some sarcastic remark as well. Then again, she was Presea's daughter even though Fate was deathly afraid of that fact. Presea finished calling the names and looked up at the class. Her eyes were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art that exist behind all magic in creation," she began. She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Linith-Sensei, Presea had the gift of keeping a class silent with little effort. "As there are little foolish Device-waving and silly incantations here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering beakers with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of chemicals that creep through human veins, befuddling the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even reverse death itself – if you aren't as big a bunch of Neanderthals as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Nanoha stared at Presea with her eyebrow raised suspiciously. Hayate Yagami was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a Neanderthal. But Fate was looking sicker than usual and could have fallen over with the slightest touch.

"Takamachi!" said Presea suddenly. "Tell me the three basic properties on the subject of human life as stated in the reports of Ansem the Wise."

Ansem the wise? She knew she had heard that name before in her books, but she couldn't be expected to remember on the spot. Nanoha glanced at Fate, but her best friend immediately ducked behind her desk and away from her mother's piercing stare.

"I don't know, ma'am," said Nanoha.

Presea's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Takamachi, where would you look if I asked you to find me a Makulan Stone?"

Fate dived even further down her seat to the point where she nearly fell over the edge. She clearly knew the answer, but was too scared of her mother to say anything. Nanoha didn't even have the faintest idea what a Makulan Stone was. She tried not to look at Yuri and the Floarian Twins, who were shaking with laughter.

"I don't know, ma'am."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Takamachi?"

Nanoha forced herself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. She _had _looked through her books at the Henkens, but did Presea expect her to remember everything in _Scientific and Chemical Study_?

"What would I get, Takamachi, by fusing four carbons, nine hydrogens, one nitrogen, and one oxygen atom?"

By this point, Fate had fallen on to the floor and didn't seem like she was coming back up any time soon.

"I don't know," said Nanoha quietly. "If I did know all of that stuff, wouldn't that put you out of a job?"

A few people laughed; Nanoha caught Teana's eye, and Teana winked. Presea, however, as not pleased.

"Sit up properly, you useless girl!" she snapped at Fate, who quickly returned to her chair looking white as a sheet. "For your information, Takamachi, Ansem's report dictates that the basis of a human life is built on the body, soul, and heart. A Makulan Stone is a found in a particular species of dragon called Fing-Fang-Foom and can expel all known toxins. As for those chemicals I just mentioned, they combine to create a neurotransmitter called gamma-Aminobutyric acid that inhibits the mammalian central nervous system. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for pens and paper. Over the noise, Presea said, "And a point will be taken from Kaiser House for your cheek, Takamachi."

Things didn't improve for the Kaisers as the Scientific Research lesson continued. Presea put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple chemical that would cure acne. She swept around in her long purple cloak, watching them weigh and measure each chemical that went into the concoction, criticizing almost everyone except Yuri, who she seemed to like, and her own daughter. And least that gave Kaiser some level of advantage. Presea was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Yuri had neatly mixed her compound when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the chamber. Subaru had somehow a managed to melt Teana's beakers and test tubes into a twisted blob, and their formula was seeping across the floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Subaru, who had been drenched in the solution, moaned in pain as angry red burns sprang all over her arms and legs.

"Idiot girl!" snarled Presea, clearing the spilled chemicals away with a wave of her hand. "I suppose you failed to thoroughly measure the ingredients before heating them?"

Subaru whimpered as the burns started to hiss and spread up to her elbows.

"Take her to the hospital wing," Presea spat at Teana. Then she rounded on Nanoha and Fate, who had been working next to Subaru. "You – Takamachi – why didn't you make sure that she had carefully measured everything? Thought she would make you look good if she got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Kaiser."

This was unfair and Nanoha opened her mouth to argue, but Fate kicked her underneath the table.

"Don't push it," she murmured frightfully. "Mother can turn very nasty if she is upset."

As they climbed the steps towards the higher levels of the church an hour later, Nanoha's mind was racing and her spirits were low. She had lost two points for Kaiser in her very first week – _why _did Presea hate her so much?

"Don't feel so bad," said Fate comfortingly. "I hear that mother is always taking points off of those two Yagami girls. Can I come and meet Schach with you?"

At five to three they left the church and made their way across the grounds. Schach lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. Curled up on the side of the shack was the large dragon they had seen when they first arrived at St. Hilde. The dragon, they remembered was named Friedrich, opened one of its large, glassy eyes when they approached and closed it again when he sensed no threat.

Nanoha knocked on the door and not a moment later, Erio Mondial opened the door. Now that she could see him properly for the first time, Erio looked to be at least a year younger than her and Fate with short, crimson-red hair that was more naturally wild than Nanoha's. His Barrier Jacket consisted of a long white coat with an apple-red shirt underneath, brown shorts, and metal boots and gloves. He was carrying a navy-blue spear that was a head taller than he was – Nanoha assumed it was his Device.

He let them in to Schach's shack, which was actually just one room. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling; a copper kettle was boiling on the wood-burning stove, and in the corner was a small bed covered with a patchwork quilt that was made of some rather decent material in comparison to the rest of the shack.

Schach was sitting at a large whitewashed table with Caro when Erio came back with their guests. Caro was also younger than Nanoha and Fate and she was noticeably short for her age, which earned annoyed look from the pink-head when Fate voiced this comment. She wore a white and black dress similar to Nanoha's style with a pink shirt underneath a white cape, metal boots, navy-blue gloves with pink opals, and a cute little hat perched on top of her head.

"Make yourselves at home," said Schach, pulling up two more chairs around the table. "I know you didn't get the chance to meet Erio and Caro last week because they were busy helping Fried get better, so I thought I'd introduce ya."

"I'm Erio Mondial," said Erio. "I'm a Dragon Knight."

"And I'm Caro Ru Lushe," said Caro with a graceful curtsy. "I'm a Dragon Tamer from the Ru Lushe Clan. You must have seen Friedrich outside when you were coming. He's my partner – everyone calls him Fried."

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi," Nanoha introduced as Schach was pouring boiling hot water into a large teacup and putting a plate of sweet cookies on the table. "This is my friend, Fate-Chan."

"I know about you," Erio moved closer to Fate with a spark of interest. "I can't believe I get to meet _the _Lightning Testarossa. The way you took down Enel in the final round with your Plasma Lancer while fending off his Raigo was pure genius!"

"Looks like Fate-Chan has another fan," Nanoha whispered to Caro, grinning her best friend's blushing face.

"Erio is a huge fan of Brave Duel," said Caro. "Though I would think you would find it quite a relief that he isn't bothering you with questions. I know being The Girl Who Lived must be hard to deal with when you're swarmed by fans and admirers."

She wasn't kidding. In the first week alone, Nanoha had barely been able to make it to any of her classes with the number of students running up to her and asking all sorts of questions. What was the Dark Queen like? How did she survive that night? What did she do to finally defeat the Queen of Darkness? And could they see her scar? Everyone that asked that question earned a slap from Fate, who took it as a perverted comment. And while it was nice to think there were some people who liked her, it was starting to get exasperating when she finds a pile of love letters on her bed every night from boys _and _girls she didn't even know. Her fans finally crossed the line when she caught a third year girl trying to steal a pair of her panties – Nanoha totally lost it and blasted the girl all the way to the hospital wing.

Nanoha was lucky to find people who liked her not just because of her unexplained victory over the Dark Queen. Teana Lancaster was a sharp and quick-witted girl that was always at the top of her class, second only to Fate. She often helped Subaru and Nanoha with their homework whenever they were stuck on a problem. Subaru Nakajima was a slow and clumsy girl that was always making mistakes, but she had the biggest heart Nanoha had ever seen. When Nanoha accidentally spilled juice all over her homework, Subaru asked her to stop apologizing and said she could always ask Teana for help again. Then there was Hayate Yagami. Nanoha didn't know what to make of her since she always turned red in the face whenever Nanoha and Fate walked in the room and made a quick excuse to leave. Maybe she was just shy?

Schach asked Erio to stop harassing Fate and insisted that they tell her about their first week in school. They told them all about their lessons from the boring Sasakibe to the creepy Professor Stein. Nanoha and Fate were delighted to hear Schach call Punisher "that boneheaded idiot."

"And as for that dog, Max, I'd love to introduce him to Fried sometime. Do you know, every time I go up to the school, he follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of him – Castle puts him up to it."

Nanoha told Schach about the disastrous lesson with Presea. Schach, like Fate, told Nanoha not to worry about it, that Presea liked hardly any of the students.

"But she seemed to _hate _me."

"You're imagining things," said Schach. "Why would she?"

Yet Nanoha couldn't help thinking that Schach didn't quite meet her eyes when she said that.

"Didn't a new cluster of dragon eggs hatch recently?" Schach asked Caro. "I've been heard things around the forest that one of them might be a Nightfury – those are very rare."

Nanoha wondered if Schach had changed the subject on purpose. While Fate and Caro exchanged stories on their experiences with dragons, Nanoha picked up a small pad that she recognized as a News Terminal from underneath the table. Curiosity got the better of her and she turned it on to a specific article:

**Reichtum Break-In Latest**

Investigations continue into the break-in at  
Reichtum on 15 March, widely believed to be  
the work of dark mages unknown

Reichtum Mariage today insisted that nothing  
had been taken. The vault that was searched  
had in fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so  
we kindly wish for you not to ask again for your own  
good," said a Reichtum Mariage this afternoon.

Nanoha remembered Fate telling her on the _Arthra_ that someone had tried to rob Reichtum, but Fate hadn't mentioned the date.

"Schach!" said Nanoha, "that Reichtum break-in happened on my birthday! It might have been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt about it; Schach definitely didn't meet Nanoha's eyes this time. She grunted and offered her another cookie. Nanoha read the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier the same day_. Schach had emptied vault 713, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

As Nanoha and Fate walked back to the church for dinner, their pockets weighted down with Schach's surprisingly delicious cookies, Nanoha that none of the lessons she'd had so far had given her as much to think about as tea with Schach. Had Schach collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Schach know something about Presea that she didn't want to tell Nanoha?

* * *

**Well, this turned out to be a short chapter. Then again, it's just as short as it was in the book. Next chapter, I hope to introduce some more character dynamic and display Nanoha's greatest quality.**


	9. The Midnight Duel

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: The Midnight Duel**

Nanoha had never believed she would ever meet a person she hated more than Kenta, but that was before she met Yuri Eberwein. Still, first-year Kaisers only had Scientific Research with the Materials, so they didn't have to put up with Yuri much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Kaiser common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting Thursday – and Kaiser and Material would be learning together.

"Typical," said Nanoha darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself flapping around the air in front of Yuri."

She had been looking forward to flying ever since Erio showed her a recording of Fate flying around in the championship match against Enel. She was like an angel and Nanoha wanted to try it for herself.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Fate reasonably. "Anyway, I know Yuri's always going on about how good she is at Riot Force, but I bet that's all talk."

Yuri certainly did talk a lot about flying a lot. She complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Riot Force teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping TSAB regulated aircrafts. She wasn't the only one, though: the way Ben Tennyson told it, he had spent most of his childhood zooming across the countryside using that strange watch of his. Even Hayate would tell anyone who would listen about the time she had crashed through a flock of seagulls and was saved by Signum on her first time flying. Everyone from magical families talked about Riot Force constantly. Fate had already had a big argument with their roommate, Teana, about the Earth sport of soccer, which Teana was a surprising fan of. Fate couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Nanoha purposely ignored Fate when asked for her opinion – she wouldn't admit that she was on Teana's side.

Subaru Nakajima had never had any experience in flying, despite the number of lessons she had received from her older sister, Wendi. Privately, Nanoha thought it was for the best, because Subaru managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.

Teana Lancaster put on a brave face, but it was clear to everyone that she was nervous about flying as her best friend was. She was one of the brightest of Kaiser, but flying wasn't something you could learn by heart out of a book – not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she kept repeating flying tips under her breath she had gotten out of a library book called _Riot Force Volume 6 _**(Aren't references fun?)**. Subaru was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help her at the very least stay afloat during lessons. Around this time, the Fay began to flutter into the hall with the morning mail.

Nanoha hadn't had a single letter since Schach's note, something that Yuri had been quick to notice, of course. The wild-looking Fay Yuri named Zancrow was always bring her packages of sweets from home, which she opened gloatingly at the Material table.

A purple Fay brought Subaru a small package from her sisters. She opened it excitedly and showed them a crystal sphere the size of a tennis ball, which seemed to be full of swirling, blue Mana.

"It's called an Erinnerung!" she explained. "Cinque must have sent it since she always reminds me when I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns yellow – oh…" Her face fell, because the Erinnerung had suddenly glowed yellow, "…you've forgotten something…"

Subaru was scratching her head trying to remember what she had forgotten when Yuri Eberwein, who was passing the Kaiser table, snatched the Erinnerung out of her hand. Nanoha and Teana jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Yuri, but Linith-Sensei, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

"What's going on?"

"Yuri's got my Erinnerung, Sensei."

Scowling, Yuri dropped the Erinnerung back on the table.

"Just looking," she said, and she sloped away with the Florian Twins behind her.

* * *

At three-thirty that afternoon, Nanoha, Fate, and the other Kaisers hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The Materials were already there, looking just as irritated to be taking lessons with the Kaisers as they were with them.

Their teacher, Fern Corrado, arrived. She had short, gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.

Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone line up into two rows facing each other. Come on, hurry up." Nanoha stepped in line between Fate and Hayate Yagami, whose eyes were intently focused on her shoes. "Most mages can use a common levitation spell, but to achieve true flight is a rare skill even on Mid-Childa. This exercise is to see those who possess this skill and those who don't. Summon your Mana at a single point and released it in a single instance."

This was not what Nanoha was hoping for – she was just learning the basis of Mana control and she had yet to learn how to mold it properly. Looking down the line, she saw that only of handful of people were actually able to properly focus their Mana enough to make in physical. Fate obviously got it in the first try, creating tiny yellow wings on her wrists and ankles. Yuri Eberwein was floating a couple inches off the ground and Hayate performed an amazing display of growing eight raven-black wings from her back. Subaru summoned tiny wings smaller than a baby chick's on her boots and Teana was grinding her teeth trying to bring out something, but it wasn't happening.

Nanoha shook her head – she needed to focus here! She took a deep breath and held the rod of Raising Heart with both hands, staring intently at the ruby-red jewel. She needed to focus her Mana somewhere. Some place where she could easily move and keep herself balanced. The first place that came to mind was her feet. Nanoha closed her eyes and imagined all the Mana in her body circulating around them and Raising Heart's voice reached her within the depths of her mind.

"**FLIER FIN!"**

Nanoha gasped as she felt the energy explode from her body and looked down. Two bright-pink, angel-like wings appeared on either side of her shoes, flapping occasionally to keep her at least a foot above the ground. She couldn't believe how easy that spell was – she had practiced over a dozen spells in class and never had she mastered them on the first try.

After a couple minutes of straining and grunts, Corrado-Sensei called the students who couldn't complete their flight spells off to the side including a disappointed Teana. There were only a handful of students were left including Nanoha, Fate, Subaru, Hayate Yagami, and Yuri Eberwein. Nanoha and Fate were delighted when Corrado-Sensei told Yuri she had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off the ground, hard," said Corrado-Sensei. "Keep your heads level with the rest of your bodies, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two – "

But before she could reach one, Subaru, nervous and jumpy, and frightened of being left on the ground, blasted off the ground with enough force to knock a few people off balance and leave a small crater where she was once standing.

"Come, back, Nakajima!" Corrado-Sensei shouted.

But Subaru was rocketing around the air without any sense of where she was going, flailing her arms wildly and screaming at the top of her lungs. The students winced and hissed when she smacked against the trees on the edge of the forest before making a dive towards Schach's shack. The gamekeeper had just been watering the plants until she heard Subaru zooming in her direction and dived out of the way, unluckily splattering into a mud puddle. Nanoha openly groaned when she forced another turn, only this time heading in their direction. The students quickly ducked for cover and then…

BAM – Subaru smashed into the church wall, leaving a lasting impression in the bricks. She slowly slumped back to the grass and curled into a fetal position, whimpering. The Kaisers quickly ran over while the Materials remained, pointing and laughing. Teana tried to see if her friend was all right, but Corrado-Sensei quickly pushed her away. Nanoha wasn't sure, but she could have sworn something was sparking at Subaru's elbow. Before she could have a better look, Corrado-Sensei quickly covered her up.

"Fractured forearm," Nanoha heard her mutter. "Come on, Nakajima – it's all right, up you get." She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take Nakajima to the hospital wing! If I see even one of you in the air, you'll be out of St. Hilde before you can say 'Riot Force'. Come on, dear."

Subaru, her face tear-streaked, clutching her elbow, hobbled off with Corrado-Sensei, who had her arm around her. No sooner were they out of earshot than Yuri shouted loudly:

"Did you see the face on that stupid brute?"

"Shut it, Eberwein!" snapped Ben Tennyson.

"Ooh, sticking up for Nakajima?" said Larxene Éclair, a blond Material with two antenna-like hairs sticking out. "Never pegged you for the crybaby butch type, Tennyson. Well, what do you expect from a Kaiser?"

"Look!" said Yuri, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Nakajima's sister sent her."

The Erinnerung glittered in the sunlight as she held it up.

"Give it here, Yuri," Nanoha said quietly.

Everyone stopped talking to watch. Yuri smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Nakajima to find – how about – up a tree?"

"Give it _here!_" Nanoha yelled, but Yuri flipped backwards into the air and balanced herself proper and she flew higher into the sky. She hadn't been lying, she _could _fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak, she called, "Come and get it, Takamachi?"

"You can't!" shouted Hayate Yagami, catching Nanoha just before she took off. "You heard what Corrado-Sensei said. You'll get in trouble if she catches you."

But Nanoha ignored her. Blood was pumping in her ears. She grounded herself with her Flier Fins flapping and kicked hard against the grass and up, up she soared; air rushed through her hair, and her Barrier Jacket whipped out behind her – and in a rush of fierce joy she realized she had found the one thing she could do without being taught – this was easy, this was _wonderful!_ It felt like the shackles that had kept her grounded had finally broken and the sky was hers to explore. Feeling little daring, Nanoha performed a few midair spins and barrel rolls, earning the gasps and awes of those left on the ground – even Fate seemed stunned at how easy flying came to her.

She came to a sharp stop in front of Yuri in midair, holding Raising Heart like the heroes you see in television. Yuri looked stunned.

"Give it here," Nanoha called, "or I'll knock you out of the air!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Yuri, trying to sneer, but looking worried. She held her free hand out to Nanoha. "**Eternal Saber!**"

Yuri unleashed a swarm of black Mana blades in Nanoha's direction – a few girls on the ground screamed in fright. But for some reason, Nanoha didn't feel threatened. On the contrary, to the person she was now, those Mana blades looked like they were moving in slow motion. She casually dodged each blade that passed her then glided around and stopped directly behind Yuri before the blonde knew what had happened. Yuri only just saw Nanoha out of the corner of her eye before the white mage smacked her in the back of the head with Raising Heart. Yuri dropped by about five feet, holding her head with a painful grimace.

"No Amitie or Kyrie up here to save your neck, Yuri," Nanoha called.

The same thought seemed to have struck Yuri as hard as Raising Heart did. In only a few seconds, Nanoha had proved she was faster and better than her in aerial combat.

"Catch it if you can, then!" she shouted, and she threw the crystal sphere high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.

Nanoha saw, with her senses faster than normal, the sphere rise in the air and then started to fall. She leaned her body forward and commanded her Flier Fins forward – next second she was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the sphere – wind whistled in her ears, mingled with the screams of people watching – she stretched out her hand – a foot from the ground she caught it, just in time to pull up, and she landed gently onto the grass with the Erinnerung clutched safely in her fist. She could hear the cheers of her classmates as they ran to her, but suddenly stopped in their tracks, looking very pale.

"NANOHA TAKAMACHI!"

Nanoha's heart sank faster than she had just dived. She turned around and Linith-Sensei was running toward them.

"_Never_ – in all my years at St. Hilde –" Linith-Sensei was almost speechless with shock, and her eyes flashed furiously " – how _dare _you – might have broken your neck –"

"It wasn't her fault, Sensei – "

"Be quiet, Mr. Tennyson – "

"But Yuri – "

"That's _enough, _Miss Testarossa. Takamachi, follow me, now."

Nanoha caught sight of Yuri and the Florian Twin's triumphant faces as she left, walking numbly in Linith-Sensei's wake as she strode toward the church. She was going to be expelled, she just knew it. She wanted to say something to defend herself, but there seemed to be something wrong with her voice. Linith-Sensei was sweeping along without even looking at her; Nanoha had to jog to keep up. Now she had done it. She hadn't even lasted two weeks. She would be packing her bags in ten minutes. What would the Henkens say when she turned up on their doorstep.

Up the front stairs, up the marble staircase inside, and still Linith-Sensei didn't say a word to her. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Nanoha trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking her to Carim. She thought of Schach, expelled but allowed to stay as a gamekeeper. Perhaps she could be Schach's assistant. Her stomach twisted as she imagined it, watching Fate and other becoming mages while she stumped around the grounds carrying Schach's bags.

Linith-Sensei stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Stein, could I borrow Terra for a moment?"

"_Terra?_" thought Nanoha, bewildered; was Terra some magical Device she was going to use to punish her?

But Terra turned out to be a person, a tall, muscular fifth-year with messy brown and his entire left arm covered by layers of golden armor. The tall student seemed quite confused as he stepped out of Professor Stein's class though he seemed relieved to be away from the psycho doctor.

"Follow me, you two," said Linith-Sensei, and they marched up the hallways, Terra looking curiously at Nanoha. "In here."

Linith-Sensei pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Loki, who was busy writing rude words on the black board.

"Out, Loki!" she barked. Loki threw the chalk into the trash can, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Linith-Sensei slammed the door behind him and turned to face her students. "Takamachi, this is Terra Earthshaker. Terra – I found you an Ace."

Terra's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Sensei?"

"Very serious," said Linith-Sensei crisply. "The girl is a natural. I've never seen anything like it. That was your first time flying, wasn't it, Takamachi?"

Nanoha nodded silently. She didn't have a clue what was going on, but she didn't seem to be getting expelled, and some feeling started coming back to her legs.

"She caught that thing in her hand after a fifty-foot dive," Linith-Sensei told Terra. "Didn't even scratch herself. Zafira Yagami could have never pulled it off."

Terra was looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.

"Ever seen a game of Riot Force, Takamachi?" he asked excitedly.

"Terra is the captain of the Kaiser team," Linith-Sensei explained.

"She has just the build for an Ace, too," said Terra, now walking around Nanoha and staring at her. "Light – Speedy – " He caressed the head of Raising Heart for a moment, closely inspecting it. "We'll have to get her a decent upgrade for her Device, Sensei – something that will give her a better advantage like a cartridge system or flight boost system."

"I shall speak to Carim-Sama and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened _in the last match by Material, I couldn't look at Presea Testarossa in the face for weeks…" Linith Sensei peered sternly at Nanoha. "I want to hear you're training hard, Takamachi, or I'll change my mind about punishing you."

Then she suddenly smiled.

"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Riot Force player himself."

* * *

"You're _joking_."

It was dinnertime. Nanoha had just finished tell Fate and Hayate, who was surprised and embarrassed that _the _Nanoha Takamachi was confiding in her, what had happened when she had left the grounds with Linith-Sensei. Fate had a piece of teriyaki halfway in her mouth, but she had forgotten all about it.

"_Ace_?" But first years _never _– you must be the youngest house player in about –"

"- a century," said Nanoha, shoveling blackberry pie into her mouth. She felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Terra told me."

Fate was so amazed, so impressed, she just sat and gaped at Nanoha.

"I start training next week," said Nanoha. "Only don't tell anyone, Terra wants to keep it a secret."

"Agito and Rein Yagami now came into the hall, spotted Nanoha, and hurried over.

"Excellent work," said Rein in a low voice. "Terra told us. We're on the team too – Strikers."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Riot Force cup for sure this year," said Agito. "We haven't won since Zafira left, but this year's team is going to be amazing. You must be good, Nanoha, because Terra was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Anko thinks she's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"I bet it's the one behind the statue of Charles Xavier that we found in our first week. See ya."

Agito and Rein had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Yuri, flanked by the Florian Twins.

"Having a last meal, Takamachi? When are you getting back on the _Arthra_ back to the Machlos?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Nanoha coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Amitie and Kyrie , but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Yuri. "Tonight, if you want. Brave Duel. Shooting spells only – no melee. What's the matter? Never been in a Brave Duel before, I suppose."

"She may not have, but you already know my record," said Fate, wheeling around. "If fact, I'm her second, who's yours?"

Yuri looked between Amitie and Kyrie, sizing them up.

"Kyrie," she said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

When Yuri was gone, Fate and Nanoha looked at each other.

"I've only seen one match, so I have no idea what a Brave Duel is," said Nanoha. "And what do you mean you're my second."

"Well, a second is there to take over if you are critically injured or killed," said Fate casually, getting started at last on her cold teriyaki. Catching the look on Nanoha's face, she added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know with trained duelists. The most you and Yuri will be able to do is blast each other in the face. Neither of you know enough magic to do any real damage – though I still can't figure out how you blasted the panty thief. I bet she expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I use Raising Heart and nothing happens?"

"Punch her in the nose," Fate suggested.

"Excuse me," Nanoha and Fate jumped; they had forgotten that Hayate was sitting right next to them. She was keeping her eyes locked on her plate and speaking in a low voice. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing what you and Yuri were saying. Although I think she deserves it, don't you think it will be too much of a risk? What if you get caught and get Kaiser in trouble?"

"I'm glad that you're worried about us," said Nanoha, patting her shoulder. "But there's no way I can back down now."

She and Fate left the table, leaving Hayate to stare at her cold food.

* * *

All the same, it wasn't what you would call the perfect end to the day, Nanoha thought, as she lay awake much later listening to her roommates fall asleep (Subaru wasn't back from the hospital wing). Fate had spent all evening giving her advice she had learned from past matches like "If she tries to hit you with a shooting spell, you better dodge it, because you haven't learned any defense spells yet". There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Punisher or Max, and Nanoha felt she was pushing her luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Yuri's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness – this was her big chance to beat Yuri face-to-face. She couldn't miss it.

"Half-past eleven," Fate muttered at last, "we'd better go."

They pulled on their Barrier Jackets, picked up their Devices, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Kaiser common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the archway when a voice spoke up from the staircase. "Nanoha, Fate, I can't believe you're going through with this."

Nanoha and Fate turned. It was Hayate Yagami, wearing her Barrier Jacket and carrying her Device, Schwertkreuz: a golden staff wrapped in bandages with a bladed, golden cross on top.

"Hayate!" said Fate quietly. "Go back to bed!"

"Please don't do this," Hayate pleaded earnestly, "If either of you get caught, not only will you lose Kaiser points, but there's a chance you could get expelled."

"I'm sorry, Hayate, but we've got to get going," said Nanoha.

She tapped the brick wall with Raising Heart, the bricks slid away to form the archway, and Nanoha and Fate quickly exited the common room before Hayate could stop them. But the youngest Yagami wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Fate and Nanoha through the archway, surprisingly falling in line with them instead of stepping in their way.

"All right, if you won't listen, then at least let me come with you."

"Are you serious?" asked Fate.

"You two are going to be busy blasting each other to bits and you're bound to make a ton of noise," Hayate reasoned. "If I went with you, I could be look out in case a teacher of Punisher comes running down the hallway and I can give you an early warning in case we need to make a quick escape. I know a few spells I learned from Agito and Rein that could help sneak past them."

"Wow, Hayate, you're pretty cool when you take initiative," said Fate impressively.

"Aw, it's nothing…" said Hayate, blushing.

"Quiet, both of you!" Nanoha said sharply. "I heard something."

It was a sort of snuffling.

"Max?" breathed Fate, squinting through the dark.

It wasn't Max. It was Subaru. She was curled up on the floor, fast sleep, but jerked suddenly awake at they crept nearer.

"Thank the Saint King you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Subaru," said Fate. "The password is 'Senbonzakura' though I think you'll have a tough time remembering it even if we just told you."

"How's your arm?" said Nanoha.

"Fine," said Subaru, showing them her elbow covered in bandages. "Doctor Chopper had a tough time mending it, so he called Testarossa-Sensei to…well, she just helped."

"Good – well, look, Subaru, we've got to be somewhere, we'll be back later – "

"Don't leave me!" said Subaru, scrambling to her feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, Captain Suì-Fēng's been past twice already and she threatened to sting me if she finds me again."

Fate called Bardiche to bring up the time and then looked between Hayate and Subaru.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time left. The two of you can come with us and keep a look out in case someone hears us. And if either of you hold us back, I promise I won't rest until I have learned the Grand Chariot spell Jellal-Sensei told us about, and used it on you."

Hayate and Subaru nodded so fast that it looked like their heads were about to fall off and followed quickly behind Nanoha and Fate. They flittered along the hallways, stopping every once and a while to remember when the next passage way would open with bars of moonlight beaming down on them from the high windows. At every turn Nanoha expected to run into Punisher or Max, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the sixth floor and tiptoed into the trophy room.

Yuri and Kyrie weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, plaques, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Nanoha kept Raising Heart positioned to strike in case Yuri leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.

"She's late, she chickened out," Hayate whispered, poking her head out the door.

Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Nanoha had only just lifted Raising Heart when they heard someone speak – and it wasn't Yuri.

"Sniff around, boy, they might be lurking around the corner."

It was Punisher speaking to Max. Horror-struck, Nanoha waved madly at the other three to follow her as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Punisher's voice. Subaru's headband had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Punisher enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

"This way!" Nanoha mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down the long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Punisher getting nearer. Subaru suddenly let out a frightful squeak and broke into a run – she tripped, grabbed Fate around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole church.

"RUN!" Nanoha yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Punisher was following – they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one hallway then another, Nanoha in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going – they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it, and came out near their Mana classroom, which they knew as miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Nanoha panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping her forehead. Subaru was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

"I – _knew _– it," Hayate gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I – knew – it."

"We've got to get back to Kaiser tower," said Fate, "quickly as possible."

"But I was right," Hayate said to Nanoha. "Yuri tricked you. She was never going to meet you – Punisher knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Yuri must have tipped him off."

"We can worry about that later," said Nanoha. "Right now, we need to keep moving."

It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. It was Loki. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Loki – please – you'll get us thrown out."

Loki cackled.

"Wandering around at midnight, little firsties? Tut, tut, tut, naughty, naughty, you'll get caught."

"Not if you don't give us away, Loki, please."

"Should tell Castle, I should," said Loki in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Hayate, taking a swipe at Loki with Schwertkreuz – this was a big mistake.

"STUDENT'S OUT OF BED!" Loki bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE MANA CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under Loki, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the hallway where they slammed into a door – and it was locked.

"This is it!" Subaru whined, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for!"

They could hear footsteps, Punisher running as fast as he could towards Loki's shouts.

"Guess I got no choice," said Hayate. She held her palm open and gathered a large quantity of white Mana. "Come to me, Tomb of the Night Sky!" In a flash, a leather-bound book with a golden cross appeared in her hand. She held the tomb in midair and cycled through the pages, coming to a stop of a glowing sentence that only she could read. "Gates of old and realms of space, open the pathway to the world beyond! Release, **Schlüssel**!"

There was a series of clicks and rumbles that told them there were more than one locks beyond the door. The door swung opened and they all piled though it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Loki?" Punished was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please'."

"Don't mess with me, Loki, now _where did they go?_"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Loki in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right – _please._" Punisher sounded close to shooting himself on the spot.

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Loki whooshing away and Punisher cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Fate whispered, turning to Hayate. "That aria you just did – get off, Subaru – that book is a Unison Device, isn't it? For someone so young to have a Unison Device is extremely rare even in modern times."

"What's a – Suabaru! – Unison Device?" asked Nanoha.

"A Unison Device is just like it sounds," said Hayate, showing off the book. "It's just like a normal Intelligence Device, only it unifies – that is, physically merge – with its master to provide Mana control and amplify their natural abilities. Some Unison Devices can even teach new spells – cut it out, Subaru!" The Nakajima girl had been tugging on each of them for a while, which was really starting to annoy them. "_What?_"

They weren't in a room, as they had thought. They were in a corridor. More specifically, the forbidden corridor on the sixth floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.

They were staring straight into all six eyes of a massive three headed dog that filled the whole space between the ceiling and the floor. It was a Cerberus, the legendary guardian of Hell. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction, three drooling mouths, saliva that looked eerily like blood hanging in crimson ropes from its yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Nanoha knew the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant .

Nanoha groped for the doorknob – between Punisher and death, they seemed dead even. But if they ran into the Punisher, at least they had a chance of a teacher coming to save them.

They fell backwards – Nanoha and Fate slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor, screaming at the top of their lungs. Punisher must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared – all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and the Cerberus. They did run by Professor Stein as he was exiting his office, but he didn't try to stop them. Either he was too tired to notice them, or he simply didn't care. They didn't stop running until they reached the large jewel that opened the archway into Kaiser tower.

"Where on Mid-Childa have you all been?" it asked.

"Never mind that – Senbonzakura, Senbonzakura!" panted Nanoha and the archway opened. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into the armchairs. It was a while before any of them said anything. Subaru, indeed, looked as if she would never speak again.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a Cerberus locked up in a school?" said Fate finally. "If any dog needs the exercise, that one does."

"You mean you didn't see it?" said Hayate. "None of you did? You didn't see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Nanoha suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy looking at its heads. In case you hadn't noticed, there were three."

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trap door. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up and stretched her aching muscles. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna head up to bed before anyone else comes up with another clever idea to get us killed – or worse, expelled. Good night."

Fate stared at her as she walked up the staircase, her mouth opened.

"So…getting expelled is worse than getting killed?" she said like she had never seen a girl like Hayate. "I don't know about you, but I think she needs to get her priorities straight."

But Hayate had given Nanoha something else to think about as she climbed back into bed – Fate, Hayate, and Subaru did the same and Teana remained blissfully unaware. The Cerberus was guarding something…what had Schach said? Reichtum was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide – except perhaps St. Hilde.

It looked as though Nanoha had found out where the grubby little package from vault 713 was.

* * *

**And that concludes the latest chapter of Nanoha's journey to St. Hilde. I had hoped to show off Nanoha's skills as a badass aerial mage in this chapter and I would like to think I did a good job of it. Next chapter is when things finally start to get interesting: a touch of Mid-Childa's history (that I made up) and my first actual fight scene. Wait patiently until next time.**


	10. Hollow's Eve

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Hollow's Eve**

Yuri couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that Nanoha and Fate were still in St. Hilde the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Nanoha and Fate thought that meeting the Cerberus had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Nanoha filled Fate in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Reichtum to St. Hilde, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either very valuable or very dangerous, said Fate.

"Or both," said Nanoha.

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches big, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. Neither Subaru nor Hayate showed the slightest interest in what lay beneath the Cerberus and the trapdoor. All Subaru cared about was never going near the dog. Hayate secluded herself yet again and refused to speak to Nanoha or Fate about what happened that night. It was quite a shame, too, because Nanoha was just starting to like her.

All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Yuri, and to their great delight, just a thing arrived in the mail a week later.

As the Fay flooded into the great hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a large package that required four Fay to carry. Nanoha was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in the large package, and was amazed when the Fay soared overhead and dropped it right in front of her, splattering her tomato soup all over the table. They hardly fluttered out of the way when another Fay dropped a letter on top of the package.

Nanoha ripped open the letter first, which was a good idea, because it said:

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE.**_

_**It contains the parts for your new Hybrid Cartridge System, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a Device Upgrade or they'll all want one. Terra Earthshaker will meet you tonight on the playing field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**_

_**Linith Nisei**_

Nanoha had difficulty hiding her glee as she handed the note to Fate to read.

"A Hybrid Cartridge System," said Fate. "That's the same system that I use for Bardiche."

Fate referred to the revolver case hidden in the cylinder beneath Bardiche's head when she said this. According Fate, cartridge systems use Mana-infused shells that gave the caster a temporary boost in power. They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the new system in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by the Florian Twins. Yuri seized the package from Nanoha and gave it a good shake.

"That's a systems upgrade, I know it," she said, throwing it back to Nanoha with a mixture of jealousy and spite on her face. "You think you're so great just because now you've got something to polish that walking stick of yours.

"It's not just any upgrade," Fate smirked, being unable to resist rubbing it in Yuri's face. "It's a Hybrid Cartridge System. What did you say your Device uses, Yuri, an Eternal Ring program?" She grinned at Nanoha. "The Eternal Rings may look flashy, but they're not in the same league as a Hybrid Cartridge System. It is an upgrade that combines the Belkan cartridge system with Mid-Childan magic system, so it clearly outmatches yours."

"Don't get all high and mighty, Testarossa, just because of that stupid system," Yuri snapped back. "I bet that if a couple of driveling monkeys like you could use it, then it can't be that good."

Before Fate could answer, Professor Stein appeared at Yuri's side. She squeaked and jumped away – Professor Stein had a skill for terrifying students just by standing there.

"Not arguing, I hope, girls?" he said.

"We were just talking about Nanoha's new Device upgrade, Professor," said Fate.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Stein, taking a large puff of his cigarette. "Linith-Sensei said something about there being special circumstances surrounding your new enhancement, Takamachi. May I ask what model it is?"

"A Hybrid Cartridge System, sir," said Nanoha, fighting the urge not to laugh at the look of horror on Yuri's face. "And it's all thanks to Yuri here that I got it," she added.

Nanoha and Fate headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Yuri's obvious rage and confusion.

"Well, it's true," Nanoha chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase," if she hadn't stolen Subaru's Erinnerung, I wouldn't even be on the team."

Nanoha had a lot of trouble keeping her mind on her lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where her new systems upgrade was lying under her bed, or straying off to the Riot Force field where she would be learning to play that night. She bolted her dinner that evening without noticing what she was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Fate. Hayate had already been inside the dormitory, reading a passage from the Tomb of the Night Sky, when Nanoha brought out the package and unwrapped it at last.

"Wow," Hayate said softly before she realized it and buried her nose in the book, blushing.

Even Nanoha, who knew nothing of the intricacies of Devices, thought it looked wonderful. The package contained a golden rifle cartridge that could attach to the rod of Raising Heart, forty Mana shells in neat bundles, and a manual on how to install and operate the system. Nanoha and Fate spent the rest of the afternoon assembling the Device and filling the shells while Hayate watched them over the edge of her book.

As seven o'clock drew nearer, Nanoha left the church and set off in the dusk toward the Riot Force field. She had never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were silver hoops with neon-purple nets that reminded Nanoha of the goal posts used in Earth basketball.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Terra, Nanoha loaded a Mana shell in Raising Heart, feeling a sudden surge of power flowing from her hair to her toes. She pulled that energy towards her feet and released it in one burst.

"**Axel Fin!**" said Raising Heart.

The bright pink wings appeared on either side of her shoes again, only they were much larger and easier to move. The cartridge system was amazing. Nanoha kicked off the ground and once again felt that joyous sensation soaring free in the sky, unchained by the laws of gravity. She swooped in and out of the stands and then sped up and down the field. The Axel Fins reacted to Nanoha's every thought, turning which direction she wanted to go in record time.

"Hey, Takamachi, come down!"

Terra Earthshaker had arrived. He was carrying a large metal crate under his arm. Nanoha lightly touched down next to him.

"Very nice," said Nanoha, his eyes glinting. "I see what Linith-Sensei meant…you really are a natural. I'm going to teach you the rules this evening, and then you'll be joining team practices three times a week."

He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized objects.

Right," said Terra. "Riot Force is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Forwards."

"Three Forwards," Nanoha repeated, as Terra took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.

"This is called the Logia," said Terra. "The Forwards throw or kick the Logia to each other and try to get it into the goal posts on either side to score points. Ten points for every time the Logia goes into the goal post. Follow me so far?"

"The Forwards throw or kick the Logia and put it into the goal to score," Nanoha recited. "So – that's sort of like a combination between basketball and soccer, but in midair, isn't it?"

"Basketball? Soccer?" said Terra curiously.

"Never mind," said Nanoha quickly.

"Now, there's another player on each side who is called the Rear Guard – I'm the Rear Guard for Kaiser. I have to fly around our goalpost and stop the other team from scoring."

"Three Forwards, one Rear Guard," said Nanoha, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Logia. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" She pointed at the three objects left inside the crate.

"I'll show you now," said Terra. "You might want to step back a bit for this next one. I'm going to show you what the Gadgets do. These two are the Gadgets."

He showed Nanoha two identical spheres, both metallic silver and slightly smaller than the red Logia with eight bright red lenses around the surface. Nanoha noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the crate. Terra bent down and unlatched one of the Gadgets.

At once, the silver sphere rose high into the air, its red lenses glinting menacingly, and then pelted straight for Nanoha's feet. Terra quickly pulled her aside before the Gadget smashed into the ground and vaulted into the sky again. The area where it had hit was covered in a thin layer of ice. The Gadget tried to hit Terra, but he ducked out of the way and the Gadget hit the dirt again – a small fire started. It zoomed around once more for a final pass and Terra threw out his hand to catch the Gadget in his palm with an audible thud. A quick surge of electricity passed through him, but he didn't seem otherwise effected.

"See?" Terra grunted, forcing the struggling Gadget back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Gadgets rocket around the field, blasting players with different types of magic. Fire, ice, lightning – I once saw a player get hit and was covered in dragon dung for a week. That's why we have two Strikers on each team – the Yagami Twins are ours – it's their job to protect their side from the Gadgets and try and knock them toward the other team. So – think you've got all that?"

"Three Forwards try and score with the Logia; the Rear Guard protects the goal post; the Strikers keep the Gadgets away from their team," Nanoha reeled off.

"Very good," said Terra.

"Er – have the Gadgets ever killed anyone?" Nanoha asked, hoping she sound offhand.

"There have been a few, but never at St. Hilde. We've had a couple of mild shocks, a few frostbites, and sometime loss of hair but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Ace. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Logia or the Gadgets –"

" – unless they crack my head open."

"Don't worry, the Yagamis are more than a match for the Gadgets – I mean, they're like a pair of human Gadgets themselves."

Terra reached into the crate and took the fourth and last object. Compared with the Logia and the Gadgets, it was tiny, like a small diamond. It was ocean-blue and had a faint blue aura surrounding it.

"_This,_" said Terra, "is the Jewel Seed, and it's the most important piece in the game. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and damn near impossible to see. It's the Ace's job to catch it. There are two ways of catching the Jewel Seed: the easiest is to catch it by hand or you can perform a long-range sealing spell. Since the Jewel Seed is constantly changing its patterns, it's almost impossible to predict its movements enough to capture it from a distance. And the Ace who captures the Jewel Seed wins their team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Aces get fouled so much. A game of Riot Force only ends when the Jewel Seed is caught, so it can go on for ages – I think the record is three months; they had to keep bringing in substitutes so the players could get some sleep.

"Well, that's it – any questions?"

Nanoha shook her head. She understood what she had to do all right; it was doing it that was going to be the problem.

"We won't practice with the Jewel Seed yet," said Terra, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."

He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Nanoha were up in the air, Terra throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Nanoha to catch. And he threw _very_ hard. Nanoha never missed a single catch, but her hand was starting to go numb from the intensity of Terra's pitches. Terra, on the other hand, looked delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.

"The Riot Force cup will have our names on it this year," said Terra happily as they trudged up to the church. "I wouldn't' be surprised if you turn out to be better than Zafira Yagami, and he could have gone off to play professional if he hadn't chosen to join the Wolkenritter."

* * *

Perhaps it was because she was now so busy, what with Riot Force practice three evenings a week on top of all her homework, but Nanoha could hardly believe it when she realized that she had already been at St. Hilde two months. The church felt more like home than Erika Road ever had. And most recently, Nanoha had gotten her first taste of Mid-Chila's culture as the church had been redecorated seemingly overnight. The church walls were covered in black tapestries, a barren tree planted in every hallway, and the light canisters were covered by white, skull-like masks, giving off an eerie glow. Even some of the students and faculty were walking around in black robes wearing similar masks.

"Isn't it a little early for Halloween?" Nanoha asked Fate as they walked down the Mana hallway. "It's still the middle of May."

"You'll have to tell me what this 'Halloween' is later," said Fate. "But the church is just getting ready for Hollow's Eve."

"Hollow's Eve?"

"Yeah." Fate explained. "Thousands of years ago, the Hollows of Hueco Mundo invaded Mid-Childa led by their king, Baraggan the Rotten. Baraggan led his army on a massive siege across the country and he had nearly reached Cranagan until reinforcements arrived from our allies on Belka. The Belkan knights pushed back the Hollows and the Saint King defeated Baraggan, forcing him back to Hueco Mundo. And now every year around this time, we celebrate the day the Hollows were defeated."

Nanoha still thought it was a little like Halloween, but it probably didn't matter. She was celebrating a holiday on an alien world – how many of your friends can say that?

Her lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics. On the morning of Hollow's Eve, Professor Stein announced in Mana class that he thought they were ready to start performing shooting spells, something they had all been dying to try since they had seen him blast Subaru across the classroom for a demonstration. Professor Stein put the class into pairs to practice on each other. Nanoha's partner was Teana (which was a relief, because Subaru had been trying to catch her eye), and Fate was to be working with Hayate Yagami. Maybe this would be a good chance for Fate to get to know her better since Hayate rarely spoke to either of them.

"Today we will be performing a simple Cross Fire Shoot spell," said Professor Stein, walking down the line of students. "It's a rather simple spell for those of you who have successfully learned to produce Mana externally. As for those who haven't…" He looked at Subaru as he said this. "Well, it'll be an interesting experiment. Condense your Mana into a small sphere and push it forward with your mind. You don't have enough power to harm each other, so don't hold back."

It was surprisingly easy. Nanoha and Teana were the only pair to produce external Mana spheres and hit each other on their first try, which Professor Stein said showed great compatibility for shooting spells. Fate, who was more suited for melee spells, took two attempts before she successfully used Cross Fire Shoot, which surprised Nanoha since she could use difficult spells like Photon Lancer. Teana told her it was because of Fate's lightning affinity as opposed to the spell's fire properties.

Hayate, on the other hand, was having even worse luck.

"Cross Fire Shoot!" Hayate shouted, waving Schwertkreuz like a windmill, which really didn't make things better.

"Hayate, Hayate, stop!" said Fate. "Just calm down for a moment and clear your head. Now, close your eyes and visualize the Mana seeping from your body and condense it into a small ball."

"O-ok, Fate-san," said Hayate softly. "If you say so…"

Hayate took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her body radiated with an enormous amount Mana – Nanoha and Fate combined couldn't match it – and started siphoning it off little by little. She had just started sharping the Mana into a sphere when it exploded in her face and knocked Hayate off her feet. Fate quickly ran over to help her up, wiping the soot that had collected on her Barrier Jacket.

"Are you all right, Hayate?" Fate asked.

"That was utterly pathetic," Professor Stein stood over the two, looking deeply disappointed. "You have the largest Mana reserve of anyone in the school and you can't even perform a simple shooting spell. You have to be the worst student I've had the displeasure of teaching. I honestly can't think of a reason why I shouldn't fail you right now."

That was going a little too far in Nanoha's opinion. Hayate lowered her head and sniffed, quickly jumping up and running out of the classroom. Professor Stein didn't try to stop her; it seemed like he preferred it this way.

"Weren't you a little mean, Professor?" said Fate. "I know she's a not an expert, but she could get better with a little practice. You didn't need to say it like that."

"I'm not the type of person to beat around the bush," said Professor Stein casually. "All right, everyone, back to work! Everyone who hasn't completed the spell by the end of class will have extra homework."

Nanoha didn't think she could hate any teacher more than Presea, but Professor Stein was running a close second.

* * *

Hayate didn't turn up for their next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Hollow's Eve feast, Nanoha and Fate overheard Subaru telling Teana that Hayate was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. The two still felt bad for not standing up for Hayate in class, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Hollow's Eve decorations put Hayate out of their minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swopped over the tables in low black clouds, making the light of the crescent moon above stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the silver plates, as it had at the start-of-term feast. Nanoha was helping herself to a baked potato when Jellal-Sensei came sprinting into the hall, his armor disheveled and a look of terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Carim's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped:

"There's – there's a chimera – there's a chimera in the lower levels!"

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was an uproar from the students who were shoving one another to escape through the doors. When the teachers failed to bring calm to the students, Carim stood up and shot several golden fireworks into the air to bring silence.

"Knights," she rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately! The Shinigami will follow me to the lower levels!"

Signum was in her element.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! There is no need to worry as long as my follow orders! Stay close behind me, now! Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a knight!"

"How could a chimera get in?" Nanoha asked as they climbed the stairs.

"It's not impossible," said Fate. "Some chimeras have been known to intelligent enough to fool some humans. Though I'm willing to bet Loki let it in for a Hollow's Eve prank."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hades, Nanoha suddenly grabbed Fate's arm.

"I've just thought of something – Hayate."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about the chimera."

"Oh no. Quick, move before Signum sees us."

Ducking down, they joined the Hades going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Signum!" hissed Fate, pulling Nanoha behind a large stone statue.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Signum but Presea. She crossed the hallway and disappeared from view.

"What is she doing?" Nanoha whispered. "Why isn't she down in the lower levels with the rest of the teachers?"

"I don't know."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Presea's fading footsteps.

"She's heading for the sixth floor," Nanoha said, but Fate held up her hand.

"Can you hear something?"

Nanoha had to strain her ears before she could hear it – a low, animalistic growl, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Fate pointed – at the end of the passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Ten feet tall and twenty feet long, it took the appearance of a sickly-green lizard with a long black mane and six pupils in its left eye. The most disturbing feature about the chimera had to be the human faces and limbs sprouting along its skin as it they were drowning in a venomous ocean.

The chimera stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It took in a deep breath, growling hungrily, and slouched slowly into the room.

"The key's in the lock," Nanoha muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Fate.

They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the chimera wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Nanoha managed to grab the key, slammed the door, and locked it.

"_Yes!_"

Flushed with victory, they started to run back up the hallway, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they had just locked up.

"Oh no," said Fate, pale as when she was confronted with her mother.

"_Hayate!_"

It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Their friend was in danger and it was their fault for locking her in. Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in a panic. Nanoha pulled the door open and ran inside.

Hayate Yagami was shrinking against the wall opposite of them, looking as if she was about to faint. Schwertkreuz was stabbed into the ceiling and the Tomb of the Night sky was on the floor out of Hayate's reach. The chimera was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls and smashing the stalls with its tail. Hayate was too scared to move and the beast's dagger-sized teeth were only a breath away from ripping her skin off. Nanoha didn't know what she was thinking at the moment, but she pointed Raising Heart at the beast and summoned three balls of Mana.

"**Cross Fire Shoot!**" screamed Nanoha.

The pink spheres darted across the bathroom and smashed into the chimera's back, exploding on contact. The chimera hissed and turned its six eyes to the children, lifting its massive tail to bring it down on top of them. Nanoha ducked under the broken sinks while Fate skillfully flipped into the air and landed on the tip of the appendage, Bardiche gripped securely in her fists. The chimera growled, slammed its tail against to wall, hoping to knock her off, but Fate jumped into the air at the last moment.

"**Plasma Barret!**" Fate shouted.

Over thirty yellow stingers circled the chimera and simultaneously pierced the beast in a shower of electrified miniature explosions. All six of its eyes twitched from the brief jolt but the chimera hissed angrily and made a charge for Fate. She quickly turned tail, made a quick dash up the wall, and flipped onto the chimera's mutated back while the beast slammed headfirst into the wall. The chimera pulled its head out of the crumbling bricks, shook its mane, and craned its head around to lash its long tongue at the fair-haired mage.

"**Haken Form!**" said Bardiche.

Bardiche's axe head flipped up a ninety degree angle and a curved blade of golden energy sprang from the gap with three smaller fin blades forming in the back. Fate twisted her Device and severed the chimera's tongue; the beast roared with pure hatred for the mage while its missing organ floundered on the bathroom floor. Fate was performing surprisingly well against the chimera – as to be expected from a Pro Duelist – and gave Nanoha time to run around and reach Hayate while the chimera wasn't looking.

"Come on, run, _run!_" Nanoha yelled at Hayate, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The wall next to them exploded and Nanoha instinctively covered Hayate with her body as dust and broken stones pounded against her Barrier Jacket. The girls looked back, seeing Fate embedded in wall with a deep cut across her ribs. The chimera roared again and started toward Fate – its severed tongue lashing violently.

Seeing her best friend in danger, Nanoha did something that was both very brave and stupid: she took a great running jump and managed to climb around the chimera's neck from behind. The chimera either didn't notice or didn't care that she was hanging there, but even a chimera will notice if you stick a long rod up its nose, and Raising Heart hadn't been in Nanoha's hand when she had jumped – it had gone straight up one of the chimera's nostrils. There was a moment of silence…

"**This is rather unsanitary, my master.**" said Raising Heart.

Howling with pain, the chimera twisted and flailed, with Nanoha clinging on for dear life; the gigantic lizard knocked her off its back and leered all six of its eyes at the small mage. Nanoha tried to crawl away as the chimera lifted its foot, but she was already backed into the wall. As the chimera brought down its foot to stomp her, Nanoha suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground and appeared on the opposite side of the restroom.

Nanoha blinked. She was safe in Fate's strong arms, but there was something different about her. Her Barrier Jacket had changed: her cloak, skirt and stockings disappeared, and the main body of her Barrier Jacket extended to include a pair of shorts. Fate blushed under Nanoha's awestruck stare as she set her safely on the ground.

"Fate-Chan, what is…" said Nanoha slowly.

"Sonic Form," said Fate. "You were very brave, Nanoha. Brave but stupid. I'll take care of the rest from here."

"But Fate-Chan!"

"It's all right, Nanoha," Hayate was kneeling next to her, looking much healthier than before. "If Fate-San can use Form Shifting then we might have a chance."

"Form Shifting?" asked Nanoha.

"Barrier Jackets are very useful because they are highly customizable," Hayate explained as Fate slowly moved closer to the chimera. "Each form tweaks the mages abilities to match a certain situation, but it usually takes a long cool down period to change between forms. Only the best mages can use instantaneous Form Shifts."

Nanoha stared at Fate's back, feeling a renewed sense of amazement. Every time Nanoha thought she knew her best friend, she always manages to impress her.

Fate stared down the chimera and the gigantic lizard wasted no time charging after her. Fate's eyes darkened with such intensity that it made the similarities between her and her mother, Presea, that much more obvious. The blonde mage brought up two fingers, swiped them across, muttering a silent command under her breath, and a large golden magic circle appeared beneath the chimera, binding its legs in golden rings to lock it in place. The chimera flailed angrily. Fate tightened her grip around Bardiche's pole, dashed across the bathroom in a flash of movement, screaming:

"**SCYTHE SLASH!**"

Nanoha and Hayate quickly looked away. Fate had sliced the chimera's head directly down the middle, splattering blood along the walls, and dropping to the floor with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Nanoha got to her feet. She was shaking and out of breath. Fate was standing there next to the chimera's divided head with Bardiche its default form, covered from head to toe in the beast's lifeblood.

It was Hayate who spoke first.

"Is everyone all right?"

"I think so," said Nanoha shakily. "You okay, Fate-Chan?"

"I'll be fine," said Fate. She bent down and pulled Raising Heart out of the dead chimera's nose. It was covered in a combination of dark-crimson blood and lime-green snot. "Urgh – you're definitely gonna want to give her a good polish."

Nanoha took Raising Heart by the only clean portion on it.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the chimera's roars. A moment later, Captain Suì-Fēng had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Presea, with Captain Hitsugaya bring up the rear. Captain Suì-Fēng had a black and yellow stinger on her middle finger and Captain Hitsugaya had frozen dragon hanging off his shoulder.

Suì-Fēng bent down to inspect the corpse. Presea was looking at Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate. Nanoha could see why Fate was so afraid of her mother – she had never seen Presea look so angry, her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Kaiser faded quickly from Nanoha's mind. Then again, it was Presea.

"What on Mid-Childa were you children thinking?" Presea shouted with could fury in her voice. Nanoha looked at Fate, who flinched with each syllable that came out of her mother's mouth. "You're lucky you weren't killed! Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Captain Suì-Fēng gave them a swift, piercing look. Nanoha looked at the floor. She really wished Fate would put Bardiche away.

"Please, Presea-Sensei – they were looking for me," Hayate said suddenly.

"What was that, Yagami?" said Presea coldly.

"I went looking for the chimera because I – I thought I could prove myself to Professor Stein if I dealt with it on my own – you know, I had a Unison Device, so I thought I had an advantage." Fate let go of Bardiche, who complained about being carelessly dropped. Hayate Yagami, the sweet, shy girl was telling a straight up lie to a teacher, to Presea of all people? "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Nanoha stuck her Device up its nose and Fate killed it. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Nanoha and Fate tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well – if that is the case…"said Presea-Sensei, staring at the three of them, "Hayate Yagami, you stupid, idiotic girl, how could you think to tackle a chimera on your own? Ten points will be taken from Kaiser for your utter stupidity. If you are not hurt at all, you'd better get off to the Kaiser dormitory. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hayate left, taking one last look back at them. Presea turned to Nanoha and Fate; both looked deathly afraid of the Material Head.

"Well, you two should consider yourselves lucky, for not many first-years could have taken on a B-Rank chimera and live to tell the tale. But what you did was stupid and dangerous. Therefore, ten points each…" Nanoha and Fate groaned; they had lost thirty points in one night. "…will be awarded to Kaiser House."

It was official – Hell had frozen over.

"For sheer dumb luck," said Presea coldly, though her face was more relaxed when looking at Fate. "Carim-Sama will be informed of this. Just a little cleaning up –" she waved her hand and the blood covering Fate had vanished. " – you may go now. Captains, may I ask for your assistance in cleaning up?"

They hurried out of the chamber before Presea decided to change her mind and take away points. They didn't speak to each other until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of blood, quite apart from anything else. While Nanoha was still a little shaken up by the experience, Fate didn't seem bothered that she had bisected a giant chimera. Nanoha didn't want to know the reason.

"It's amazing that we survived and got twenty points out of it," said Fate.

"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hayate's points."

"I didn't expect her to get us out of trouble like that," Fate admitted. "Of course, we _did _save her life."

"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Nanoha reminded.

They had reached the jewel of the archway.

"Senbonzakura," they said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hayate, however, stood alone by the archway, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.

From that moment on, Hayate Yagami had become a new person; the whole experience had made her realize that life was too short to hesitate. No longer was she the shy and lonely girl in the corner of the bedroom, but an excitable and quirky person that loved to dress up in cosplay outfits and had an odd fascination with breasts – something her roommates dreaded

On that day, it everyone in St. Hilde that Hayate Yagami was best friends with the famous Nanoha Takamachi and Fate Testarossa. There were some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and slaying an ten-foot chimera is one of them.

* * *

**Hell yeah! My first fight scene is completed! I want some feedback on how you thought it was: was it good? Was it bad? How could I improve upon it? I'm eager to hear what you think. Next chapter is Nanoha's time in the spotlight: the Riot Force match! Stay tuned to see some high flying action and Nanoha being her badass self!**


	11. Riot Force

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Riot Force**

As they entered June, the weather turned sweltering hot. Waves of heat could be seen wafting off the grounds and the cool, refreshing lake looked like it was coming close to a boil, detouring students from the water. Schach could be seen from upstairs watering the grass on the Riot Force field, dressed in her thinnest clothing consisting of a tank top, shorts, and a pair of sandals.

The Riot Force season had begun. On Saturday, Nanoha would be playing in her first match after weeks of training: Kaiser versus Material. If Kaiser won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.

Hardly anyone had seen Nanoha play because Terra had decided that, as their secret weapon, Nanoha should be kept, well, secret. But the news that she was playing Ace had leaked out somehow, and Nanoha didn't know which was worse – people telling her she would be amazing or people telling her they would be running around underneath her holding a mattress.

Nanoha didn't know how she had gotten through all her homework, what with all the last-minute Riot Force practice Terra was making them do. Hayate didn't really help much as she always procrastinated on her work in favor of other things like convincing Nanoha to dress up in various cosplay outfits for her album. To this day, Nanoha cannot figure out how the once shy girl had managed to persuade her into a string bikini that was two sizes too big for her – Fate had passed out from blood loss when she accidentally walked in on them.

But besides this unusual habit, Hayate had become much more sociable. She started talking to Nanoha and Fate more often and even managed to have a proper conversation with her sisters without running off. She had also leant Nanoha her copy of _Riot Force Volume 6_, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

Nanoha learned that there were seven hundred ways to commit a foul in Riot Force and that all of them had happened during a Dimension Cup match in 0012; that Aces were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that the most serious Riot Force accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Riot Force, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later on Tortuga, where they were recruited into pirate crews.

The day before Nanoha's first Riot Force match the three of them were out in the blistering courtyard during break, and Hayate had composed an aria from the Tomb of the Night Sky that created a miniature snowstorm just above their heads. They were sitting with their backs together, enjoying the cool snow, when Presea crossed the yard. Nanoha noticed at once that Presea was limping. Hayate quickly waved away the snow cloud before she could see it; she may have been nice during the incident with the chimera, but that appeared to be a one-time thing. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Presea's eye. She limped over. She hadn't seen the snow cloud, but she seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Takamachi?"

It was _Riot Force Volume 6_. Nanoha showed her.

"Books from the Infinity Library are not to be taken outside the school," said Presea. "Give it to me. Five points from Kaiser."

"She just made that rule up," Nanoha muttered angrily as Presea limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with her leg?"

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting her," said Hayate bitterly.

* * *

The Kaiser common room was very noisy that evening. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate sat together next to a window. Fate was checking Nanoha and Hayate's Mana homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.

Nanoha felt restless. She wanted _Riot Force Volume 6 _back, to take her mind off her nerves about tomorrow. Why should she be afraid of Presea, even if Fate was? Getting up, she told Fate and Hayate she was going to ask Presea if she could have it.

"Better you than me," they said together, but Nanoha had an idea that Presea wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.

She made her way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again. Nothing. Perhaps Presea had left the book in there? It was worth a try. She pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met her eyes.

Presea and Jellal-Sensei were inside, alone. Presea was holding her robe above her knees. One of her legs was bloody and mangled. Jellal-Sensei was binding her wounded leg in bandages.

"Damned thing," Presea was saying. "How are you supposed to keep eyes on all three heads at once?"

Nanoha tried to shut the door quietly, but –

"TAKAMACHI!"

Presea's face was twisted with fury as she dropped her robes to quickly cover her leg. Nanoha gulped.

"I was just wondering if I could have my book back."

"GET OUT! _OUT!_"

She didn't need to be told twice. Nanoha left, before Presea could take any more points from Kaiser. She sprinted back upstairs.

"Did you get it?" Hayate asked as Nanoha joined them. "What's the matter?"

In a low whisper, Nanoha told them what she had seen.

"You know what this mean?" she finished breathlessly. "She tried to get past that Cerberus at Hollow's Eve! That's where she was going when we saw her – she's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet Raising Hearts _she _let that chimera in, to make a diversion!"

"**You don't really mean that, do you, Master?**" asked Raising Heart, who sounded kind of nervous. "**You wouldn't really give me up...right? Master?**"

"No – my mother would never do that," Fate said strongly. "I know she's not the nicest teacher, but she wouldn't try to steal something Carim-Sama was keeping safe."

"You said so yourself that Presea can turn nasty if she wants to," snapped Hayate. "I'm with Nanoha on this one. I wouldn't put anything past Presea. But what's she after? What is that Cerberus guarding?"

Nanoha went to bed with her head buzzing with the same question. Subaru was snoring loudly, but Nanoha couldn't sleep anyway. She tried to empty her mind – she needed to sleep, she had to, she had her first Riot Force match in a few hours – but the expression on Presea's face when Nanoha had seen her leg wasn't easy to forget.

* * *

The next morning dawned very bright and humid. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good game of Riot Force.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"At least have a bite of toast," wheedled Fate.

"I'm not hungry."

Nanoha felt terrible. In an hour's time she would be walking onto the field.

"Nanoha, you need your strength," said Teana. "Aces are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."

"Thanks, Tea," said Nanoha, watching pile her plate with sausages.

* * *

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Riot Force field. Many students had binoculars or something similar to see the game better. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Fate and Hayate joined Teana and Subaru in the top row. As a surprise for Nanoha, they had printed a large banner on one of the sheets Pabu had ruined. It said Nanoha's No. 1, and Hayate, who was skilled at drawing designs for her next cosplay outfit, had drawn a large Kaiser Cross underneath. Then Teana had performed a tricky little illusion spell, which she a particular affinity for, so that the paint flashed different colors.

Meanwhile, in the locker room, Nanoha and the rest of the team were changing into the pristine-white Riot Force uniforms (Material would be playing in obsidian-black). Terra cleared her throat for silence.

"Okay, men," he said.

"And women," said Agito.

"And women," Terra agreed. "This is it."

"The big one," said Forward Riku Dawn

"The one we've all been waiting for," said Forward Sora Kingdom.

"We've known Terra's speech by heart," Riku told Nanoha, "we've been on the team for the last two years."

"Shut up, you two," said Terra. "This is the best team Kaiser's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them all as if to say 'or else'. "Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Nanoha followed Agito and Rein out of the locker room and, hoping her knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers. Corrado-Sensei was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her Device at the ready.

"Now, I want a nice fair game from all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Nanoha noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Material Captain, Saïx Isa, a fifth year like Terra. Nanoha thought Saïx looked as if he had some werewolf blood in him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Nanoha's No. 1 over the crowd. Her heart skipped. She felt braver.

"**Axel Fin!**" said Raising Heart.

The angel wings appeared at Nanoha's feet. Corrado-Sensei gave a loud blast of her silver whistle. Fifteen bodies rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.

"And the Logia is taken immediately by Riku Dawn of Kaiser – what an excellent Forward that guys is, and not bad looking if you ask me –"

"MITARASHI!"

"Sorry, Sensei."

The Yagami Twin's friend, Anko Mitarashi, was doing commentary for the match, closely watched by Linith-Sensei.

"And he's really belting along up there, making a clean kick to Sora Kingdom, a good find of Terra Earthshaker's, last year only a reserve player – back to Riku and – no, the Material have taken the Logia, Material Captain Saïx Isa gains the Logia and off he goes – Saïx flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc – no, stopped by an excellent move by Kaiser Keeper Terra and the Kaisers take the Logia – that's Forward Ventus Wayward of Kaiser there, nice dive around Saïx, off up the field and – DAMN – blasted out of the air by a hurricane from the Gadgets – Logia taken by the Materials – that's Xaldin Lindworm speeding off toward the goal post, but he's blasted away by a second Gadget – sent his way by Rein Yagami and Riku is back in possession of the Logia, a clear field ahead and off he goes – he's really flying – dodges a speeding Gadget – the goal post is ahead – come on, Riku – Keeper Vexen dives – misses – KAISER SCORES!"

Kaiser cheers filled the warm air, with howls and moans from the Materials.

"Move over for a moment, come on."

"Schach!"

Fate and Hayate moved to the side to Schach, Erio, and Caro enough space to join them – Erio was a lot closer to Fate than she would have liked.

"We were watching from my shack until Fried got tired," said Schach, patting a pair of binoculars around her neck, "But it isn't the same as being in the crowd. No sign of the Jewel Seed yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Hayate. "Nanoha hasn't had much to do yet."

"Keeping out of trouble, though, that's something," said Caro, borrowing Schach's binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Nanoha.

Way above them, Nanoha was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Jewel Seed. This was part of hers and Terra's game plan.

"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Jewel Seed," Terra had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."

When Riku had scored, Nanoha had done a few midair flips to let off her feelings. Now she was back to staring around for the Jewel Seed. Once she caught sight of a flash of blue, but it was just the sunlight reflecting off of Rein's Device, which was a blue version of Hayate's, and once a Gadget decided to come pelting her way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Nanoha dodged it and Agito came chasing after it.

"All right there, Nanoha?" she had time to yell, as she punched the Gadget furiously toward Saïx Isa.

"Material in possession," Anko Mitarashi was saying, "Forward Xaldin ducks two Gadgets, two Yagamis, and Forward Ventus, and speeds toward the – wait a minute – was that the Jewel Seed?"

A murmur ran through the crowd as Xaldin Lindworm dropped the Logia, too busy looking over his shoulder at a flash of blue that had passed his left ear. Nanoha saw it. In a great rush of excitement she dived downward after the streak of blue. Material Ace Xigbar Sharpshooter had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Jewel Seed – all the Forwards seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.

Nanoha was smaller and faster than Xigbar – she could see the little blue diamond, darting around up ahead – she put on an extra spurt of speed –

BOOM! A roar of rage echoed from the Kaisers below – Xigbar Sharpshooter had aimed his arrow guns and purposely shot Nanoha in the back, the arrows exploding on contact and sending Nanoha spinning off course, clinging to Raising Heart for dear life. Nanoha hit the ground hard and tumbled a few feet before landing hard on her back.

"Foul!" screamed the Kaisers.

Corrado-Sensei spoke angrily to Xigbar and then ordered a free shot at the goal post for Kaiser. But in all the confusion, of course, the Jewel Seed had disappeared from sight again.

Down in the stands, Teana was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red Card!"

"What are you talking about, Tea?" said Hayate.

"Red Card!" said Teana furiously. "In soccer, you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"But this isn't soccer, Tea," Hayate reminded her.

"They oughta change the rules," said Erio. "Xigbar could have killed Nanoha with that shot."

Anko Mitarashi was finding it difficult not to take sides.

"So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating – "

"Mitarashi!" growled Linith-Sensei.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul – "

"_Mitarashi, I'm warning you – "_

"All right, all right. Xigbar nearly kills the Kaiser Ace, which could have happened to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty shot to Kaiser, taken by Sora, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Kaiser still in possession."

It was as Nanoha dodged another Gadget, which went spinning dangerously past her head, that it happened. She felt her bones stiffen and her muscles contracting for a split second. For a moment, she thought it was just a side effect from being shot in the back by magic arrows. She gripped Raising Heart tightly with both her hands and started flying again. She had never felt anything like that before.

Then it happened again. She felt her muscles contract painfully tight underneath her skin and could feel a heavy pressure over her lungs and heart. What was going on? Was she seizing up? Nanoha tried to turn back toward the Kaiser goal post – she had half a mind to ask Terra to call a time-out – and then she realized that her body was completely out of her control. She couldn't turn; she couldn't as much move a finger. Her arms and legs stretched outwards as if they were trying to escape from the main body. She could feel herself being pulled in multiple directions at once.

Anko was still commentating.

"Material in possession – Saïx with the Logia – passes Riku – passes Ventus – hit hard in the face by a Gadget, hope it burned his eyebrows – only joking, Sensei – Material scores – damn it…"

The Materials were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Nanoha was hanging in the air acting rather strangely. Her arms and legs were being pulled even harder that she was worried her bones would snap.

"Dunno what Nanoha thinks she's doing," Schach mumbled. She stared through her binoculars. "If I didn't know better, I would say she was under some kind of a curse… but she can't have…"

Suddenly, people were pointing up at Nanoha all over the stands. Her limbs had been pulled as far as they could and now she felt herself being pulled backwards as a great pressure was applied to her spine. Then the whole crowd was silenced. They could actually hear the bones in Nanoha's spine beginning to pop. With the amount of pain she was in, Nanoha wanted to scream, but her voice was blocked out by an invisible pressure wrapped around her throat.

"Did something happen when Xigbar shot her?" Teana whispered.

"Can't have," Schach said, her voice shaking. "Raising Heart is an advanced piece of machinery that nothing except Dark Magic could affect – no student could pull that off in the middle of a match."

At these words, Fate seized Schach's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Nanoha, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" moaned Hayate, gray-faced.

"So it was her after all," Fate gasped, "My mother – look."

Hayate grabbed the binoculars. Presea Testarossa was in the middle of the stands opposite of them. She had her eyes fixed on Nanoha and was muttering nonstop under her breath.

"She's doing something – casting a curse on Nanoha," said Fate.

"We can't just stand here. We have to do something."

Before Fate could ask what she was planning, Hayate disappeared into the crowd, calling Schwertkreuz and the Tomb of the Night Sky to her person. Fate turned the binoculars back on Nanoha. She was being pulled backwards harder and she looked ready to be folded in half. The whole crowd was on its feet, terrified, and the Yagamis flew up to try and free Nanoha from whatever was binding her, but it was no good – a barrier had been erected around her, keeping everyone out. A few of the Kaiser players demanded that Corrado-Sensei call off the match. Saïx Isa seized the Logia and scored five times without anyone noticing.

"Come on, Hayate," Fate muttered desperately.

Hayate had fought her way across to the stand where Presea stood, and was now racing along the row behind her. Reaching the center of the stands just behind Presea, she crouched down, opened the Tomb of the Night Sky to a specific chapter, and whispered the verse highlighted on the page. A sudden flurry of white snow pelted everyone heavily in the stands. The people around her shivered and shrieked by the surprise snowstorm. A sharp yelp from Presea told Hayate that she had done her job. She quickly ducked out of the stands and dispelled the incantation – Presea would never know what had happened.

It was enough. Up in the air, the barrier around Nanoha had shattered and the pressure had faded.

"Subaru, you can look!" Teana said. Subaru had been sobbing into Schach's robe for the last five minutes.

After assuring the Yagami twins that she was fine, Nanoha went back to work in searching for the Jewel Seed. Her heart sank when she spotted it on the opposite side of the field – Xigbar Sharpshooter quickly closing in on it.

"Oh no, we're too late!" said Nanoha.

"**Not so, Master,**" said Raising Heart. "**We can still win this match with a long-range sealing spell.**"

"But you heard what Terra said – it's impossible."

"**Nothing is impossible for you, Master. I know you can do it, just believe in me as I believe in your and together, we can do anything you set your mind to.**"

"Raising Heart…" Nanoha murmured, never feeling more proud to have a partner like her Device. "Okay! All right, let's win this thing!"

"**Shooting Mode!**"

Nanoha had spent months together with Raising heart and could not begin to understand all the functions her unique Device possessed, but showed no signs of alarm or concern when her Device began to shift in her hands. The gold section of Raising Heart's head dematerialized, reforming into a more square shape with two prongs. Nanoha stabbed her newly shaped Device in the direction of the Jewel Seed, calling all her energy to flow into Raising Heart – this energy took the form of two sakura wings exposed from the shaft.

The crowd watched in awe as a small ball of pink energy formed at the tip of Raising Heart – even Xigbar stopped for a moment to stare. That was his final mistake as the Jewel Seed slipped through his fingers.

"Capture it, Raising Heart!" Nanoha commanded strongly. A single spell came to her mind, one she had never heard before but knew instinctively. "**DIVINE BUSTER!**"

An explosion of pink energy ripped across the Riot Force field, blowing everyone out of the way with its immense pressure. Xigbar, who had been the closest to the Jewel Seed, was blasted to the side, smashed through the stands, and tumbled across the grounds until he plopped into the lake. When everything had passed, the Jewel Seed was found contained in a small pink barrier. There was a long period of silence, everyone staring between the Jewel Seed and Nanoha, their eyes wide as dinner plates.

"I did it…" said Nanoha after a while. "I did it! I captured the Jewel Seed!"

The whole stadium exploded, Kaisers being the loudest of them all.

"In an unbelievable turn of events, Nanoha pulled off the impossible with a long-range sealing spell, clinching the game in Kaiser's favor 170 to 60!" Anko announced excitedly. Linith-Sensei tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a piece of paper. "On another note, Nanoha Takamachi has broken the old world record of eighty-nine yards for the farthest sealing spell with her own record of one hundred and three yards! Nanoha Takamachi, you truly are the Ace of Aces!"

As Nanoha touched down on the ground, she was smothered by her fellow teammates before the rest of Kaiser House joined them. Nanoha was afraid she was about to suffocate – as if she hadn't done that already – when Terra lifted her off the ground and placed her on his shoulder for everyone to see. She noticed that Saïx and the other Materials were glaring at her before they went to fish their Ace out of the lake, but she didn't care. She was lost in the excitement as the entire Kaiser house cheered for Nanoha, chanting her new title: the Ace of Aces.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Nanoha was in Schach's shack face down on the gamekeeper's bed as Erio gave her a deep tissue massage while Caro served a cup of strong tea to Fate and Hayate.

"It was Presea," Hayate was explaining. "Fate and I saw her. She was cursing you with some kind of spell, muttering, she wouldn't take her eyes off you."

"I don't believe it," said Schach, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to her in the stands. "Why would Presea do something like that?"

Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate looked at one another, wondering what to tell her. Nanoha decided the truth.

"We found out something about her," she told Schach. "She tried to get past get past that Cerberus on Hollow's Eve. It bit her. We think she was trying to steal whatever it was guarding – ooh, you're really good at this, Erio. A little to the left."

Schach slipped her tea on the table.

"How do you know about Fifi?" she said.

"_Fifi?_" Nanoha exclaimed.

"I can't believe you named that thing," said Fate.

"I can't believe you named it Fifi," said Hayate.

"It was either Fifi or Fluffy and fluffy just sounded weird." Schach said, scratching her head. "I got it from a weird, flame headed guy at the Olympus Coliseum when I went to watch Hercules last year – I lent her to Carim-Sama to guard the – "

"Yes?" said Nanoha eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Schach gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Presea's trying to _steal _it"

"That's nonsense," said Schach again. "Presea is a St. Hilde teacher, she would never do anything of the sort."

"So why did she just try to turn Nanoha into a folding chair?" cried Fate

The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her views about her mother, though Nanoha had a suspicion that this is how Fate regularly felt. Kinda sad when you think about it.

"I know a curse when I see one, Schach, my mother used to be the leading scientist for the TSAB's Research and Development Division. She told me that the key to maintaining a curse is to keep eye contact, and mother wasn't blinking at all the whole time I was watching her!"

"I'm telling you, you're wrong!" said Schach hotly. "I don't know why Nanoha was suddenly attacked like that, but Presea wouldn't try and kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of you – you're meddling in things that don't concern you. It's dangerous. You forget that Cerberus and you forget what it's guarding, that's between Carim-Sama and Edward Elric – "

"Aha!" said Nanoha, flinching when Erio hit a rough spot in her back, "so there's someone called Edward Elric involved, is there?"

Schach looked furious at herself.

* * *

**Ta-Da! Nanoha Takamachi, badass aerial mages and Ace of Aces at your service! I think this chapter was good for development in Nanoha's character and a great lead into the events to come. Next is the introduction of the most crucial element of the story, so look forward to that.**


	12. The Crumbling Orb

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: The Crumbling Orb**

Saint King's Day was coming. This was another new holiday that Nanoha had learned from Mid-Childa's culture. It was on this day that everyone celebrated the birth of Olivie Sägebrecht, the Saint King, with joyous celebrations and presents – Nanoha made a comparison between Saint King's Day and Christmas on Earth, which went over everyone's head. One morning in mid-July, St. Hilde had reached its maximum temperature of forty-eight degrees Celsius and forced most classes to take place outside the church with the exception of Scientific Research, which usually took place in the dark and dank lower levels. The few Fay that managed to battle their way through the heat wave to deliver mail had been nursed back to health by Schach after they had collapsed from overheating.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While Kaiser common room and the Great Hall had air conditioning and cooling spells, the ever-changing hallways often trapped students in sundrenched spaces for hours at a time. Nanoha never thought she would say this, but she was happy to be in Presea's class, if only so that they could feel the icy-cool breeze for relief.

"I do feel so sorry," said Yuri Eberwein, one Research class, "for all those people who have to stay at St. Hilde for Saint King's Day because they're not wanted at home."

She was looking over at Nanoha as she spoke. The Florian Twins chuckled. Nanoha, who was measuring out the beaker of hydrogen peroxide, ignored them. Yuri had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Riot Force match. Disgusted that Material had lost, she had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing her as the next Ace. Then she had realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed by Nanoha's world record breaking shot during the match, which earned her the title of Ace of Aces. So Yuri, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Nanoha about having no proper family.

It was true that Nanoha wasn't going back to Erika Road for Saint King's Day. Linith-Sensei had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Nanoha had been the first one to sign up. She didn't feel sorry for herself at all; this would probably be the best holiday she'd ever had. Hayate and her sisters were staying, too, because Shamal and their older brother, Zafira, were visiting a family friend on Carnaaji. Fate, on the other hand, was going to Vaizen with Presea to spend to holidays with her older sister.

When they left the lower levels at the end of Scientific Research, they found a large fir tree blocking the hallway ahead. The tree was being carried in the powerful jaws of Fried with Caro riding saddleback on the dragon and Erio and Schach guiding him through the corridors.

"Hi, Schach, want any help?" Hayate asked, sticking her head through the branches, scaring the daylights out of Erio.

"Nah, we're all right, thanks, Hayate."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Yuri's cold drawling from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra credits, Yagami? Hoping to be a gamekeeper yourself when you leave St. Hilde, I suppose – that shack of Schach's must seem like a palace compared to what your family is used to."

Hayate dived at Yuri just as Presea came up the stairs.

"YAGAMI!"

Hayate let go of the front of Yuri's jacket.

"She was provoked, Presea-Sensei," said Caro, looking down on them over the branches of the tree. "Yuri was insulting her family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against St. Hilde rules, Miss Ru Lushe," said Presea silkily. "Five points from Kaiser, Yagami, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Yuri and the Florian Twins pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"I'll get her," said Hayate, grinding her teeth at Yuri's back, "one of these days, I'll get her – "

"I hate them both," said Nanoha, "Yuri and Presea, even if she is Fate-Chan's mother."

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Saint King's Day," said Erio. "Tell you what, come with us and take a look at the Great Hall."

So all three of them followed behind Schach, who was following behind Fried, to the Great Hall, where Linith-Sensei and Hashirama-Sensei were busy with the holiday decorations.

"Ah, Caro, the last tree – put it in the far corner."

The hall looked spectacular. Garlands of thistle and protea flowers hung along the walls, and no less than twelve towering trees stood around the room, sparking with a rainbow of decorations, some glittering with hundreds of miniature suns.

"How many days you got left until your holidays?" Schach asked.

"Just one," said Fate. "And that reminds me – Nanoha, Hayate, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Hayate, tearing her eyes away from Hashirama-Sensei, who had clapped his hands and used his particular type of magic to root the tree to the ground and sprout a garden of flowers along the branches.

"The library?" said Schach, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? A little ambitious, aren't ya?"

"Oh, we're not working," Nanoha told her brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Edward Elric we've been trying to find out who he is."

"You _what?_" Schach looked stunned. "Listen here – I've told you – drop it. It's nothing to you what that Cerberus is guarding."

"We just want to know who Edward Elric is, that's all," said Fate.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Nanoha added. "We must have been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere. There must be over a million books in their – it is called the Infinity Library for a reason. Come on, just give us a hint – I know I've read his name somewhere."

"I'm saying nothing," said Schach flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Hayate, and they left Schach looking disgruntled and hurried off to the Infinity Library.

They had indeed been searching books for Edward's name ever since Schach had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Presea was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Edward might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in _Great Mages of the century_ or _Notable Magical Names of Our Time_; he was missing, too, from _Important Modern Magical Discoveries _and _A Study of Recent Developments in Magic._ And then, there was the sheer size of the library; millions upon millions of shelves piled with books and you simply float to each one, never able to see the top or bottom of the endless archive.

Fate took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Hayate floated off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Nanoha wandered over to the Restricted Section. She had been wondering for a while if Edward was somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you need a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and she knew she would never get one. These were the books containing powerful dark magic never taught at St. Hilde, and only read by the older students studying advanced Tactical Combat Instruction.

"May I ask what you are looking for?"

"Nothing," said Nanoha.

Yuuno Scrya, the blonde-haired, glasses-wearing librarian blinked in confusion before waving her off.

"Well, you better stay out of this section – it's no place for first years."

She was thankful that Yuuno hadn't forced her out of the library – not many librarians on Earth were as understanding as him, though she wished she had though up a better story. She, Fate, and Hayate had already agreed they'd better not ask Yuuno where they could find Edward. They were sure he would be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Presea hearing what they were up to.

Nanoha searched shelf after shelf, wondering if the other two had found anything, but she wasn't hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising that they had found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Yuuno peering over in their direction. Five minutes later, Fate and Hayate joined her, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.

"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Fate. "And send me a Fay if you find anything."

"And you could ask your sister if she knows who Edward is," said Hayate. "It would be safe to ask her."

"With mother around, that would be as safe as poking a sleeping dragon in the eye," said Fate.

* * *

Once the holidays had started, Nanoha and Hayate were having too good of a time to think much about Edward. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could speak through a toasting fork – bread, muffins, marshmallows – and plotting ways of getting Yuri expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.

Hayate also started teaching Nanoha magic chess. This was exactly like Machlos chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Hayate's set was very old and battered. Hayate told her that it used to belong to Signum and she had given them to her in hopes of teaching her little sister strategy. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Hayate knew them so well she could command their movements without saying a word.

Nanoha played with chessmen that Axel Lea had lent her, and they didn't trust her at all. She wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at her, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see her knight? Send _him_, we can afford to lose _him_."

On the eve of Saint King's Day, Nanoha went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. When she woke early in the morning, however, the first thing she saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of her bed.

"Happy Saint King's Day," said Hayate sleepily as Nanoha scrambled out of bed.

"You, too," said Nanoha. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"

"What did you expect, turnips?" said Hayate, turning to her own pile, which was a lot bigger than Nanoha's.

Nanoha picked up the top package. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Nanoha, From Schach. Inside was a finely cut wooden flute. Schach had obviously whittled it herself. Nanoha blew it – it sounded a bit like a crow. The next package was from Caro and Erio; they had both sent her a beautiful, glittering white dragon scale and the note attached to it said it was one of Fried's shiniest. That was really sweet of them. Another, very small package contained a note.

_We received your message and enclosed your present. From Uncle Kenji and Aunt Kurima._ Taped to the note was a fifty yen coin.

"That's nice," said Nanoha

"_Weird!_" Hayate said, fascinated by the low value coin. "What a shape! Is this _money_?"

"You can keep it," said Nanoha, laughing at how pleased Hayate was. "Schach, Erio, Caro, and my aunt and uncle – so who sent these?"

"I think I know who that one is from," said Hayate, turning a bit pink and pointing at a very lumpy package. "It's from Shamal. I told her you didn't expect any presents and – oh, no," she groaned, "she's made you a Yagami vest."

Nanoha had torn open the package to find a thin, hand-knitted vest in sakura pink and a large box of homemade fudge.

"Every year she makes us a vest," said Hayate, unwrapping her own, "and mine is _always_ white. It's not that I don't mind, but how about slapping a little color on every once and a while."

"That's really nice of her," said Nanoha, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

Nanoha's next present also contained candy – a large box of Chocolate Devices from Fate. This left only one package; it was larger than the others. Nanoha picked it up and felt it. It was very light. She unwrapped it. A bundle of four long, midnight-black coats flopped on to the floor, almost naturally blending into the shadow of the bed. Hayate gasped.

"I've heard of those, but never actually seen them," she said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Miss Goldenweek's Palette Pellets she had gotten from Fate. "If those are what I think they are – they're really rare, and really valuable."

"They look like ordinary coats to me," said Nanoha, picking up one of the dark coats off the floor. It was strange to touch, like trying to hold smoke in your hands.

"Those aren't just any coats – those are Black Coats" said Hayate, a look of awe on her face. "They are really great because they can blend in with any shadow to make a person almost invisible. Only a couple dozen were ever made. Most of them were used by this evil organization of thirteen villains. What were they called again? Anyway, try one on." Nanoha threw on the coat, zipped it up, and Hayate gave a yell. "It _is _a Black Coat! Look down!"

Nanoha looked down at her feet, but they were gone, vanished from the point where her shins met the shadow of the bed. She dashed across the room and shut the blinds. Sure enough, when she looked back down, her body had completely blended into the darkness like a chameleon, leaving only her head suspended in midair. She pulled the hood over her head and stared into the nearby mirror, finding her reflection completely nonexistent.

"There's a note!" said Hayate suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"

Nanoha unzipped the coat and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing she had never seen before were the following words:

_These coats once belong to your father and his friends.  
It time they were passed down to you and your friends.  
Use them well._

_A very Happy Saint King's Day to you._

There was no signature. Nanoha stared at the note. Hayate was admiring one of the coats.

"I'd give _anything _for one of these," she said. "_Anything_. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said Nanoha.

She felt very strange. Who had sent her the coats? Had they really once belonged to her father and their friends? Before she could say or think of anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Agito and Rein Yagami bounded in. Nanoha quickly kicked the coats under the bed. She didn't feel like sharing them with anyone else yet.

"Happy Saint King's Day!"

"Hey, look – Nanoha's got a Yagami vest, too!"

Agito and Rein were wearing purple and white vests respectively, one with a large yellow A on it, the other an R.

"Nanoha's better than ours, though," said Agito, holding up Nanoha's vest. "Shamal obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Hayate?" Rein demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and breezy."

"Why does it always have to be white?" Hayate moaned halfheartedly as she pulled it on.

"You haven't got letters on yours," Rein observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid – we know we're called Rito and Agein."

"What's all the noise?"

Signum Yagami stuck her head through the door, looking disapproving. She had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping her presents as she, too, carried a lumpy vest over her arm, which Agito seized.

"S for Signum the Knight! Get it on, Signum, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Nanoha got one."

"I – don't – want – "said Signum fiercely, as the twins forced the vest on her backwards, tightening the buttons behind her.

"And you're not sitting with the Knights today, either," said Rein. "Saint King's Day is a time for family."

They frog-marched Signum from the room, her arms pinned to her side by her vest.

* * *

Nanoha in all her life had never had such a holiday dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of baked and mashed potatoes, platters of chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of something called Geschenk every few feet along the table. These magical party favors were nothing like Nanoha could have found on Earth. Nanoha pulled one with Agito and it exploded like a blast shot from a cannon and engulfed them in a cloud of bright pink smoke, while from inside popped a Dimensional Navy admiral's hat and several live white mice. Up at the High Table, Carim had happily topped her head with a flowery bonnet, and chuckled merrily at a joke Hashirama-Sensei had just told her.

Flaming holiday desserts followed the turkey. Signum nearly broke her teeth on a silver coin that looked suspicious like the one Nanoha gave Hayate embedded in her slice. Nanoha watched Schach getting redder and redder in the face as she called for more wine, hiccupping as she leaned over to give Professor Stein a kiss on the cheek, only to fall flat on her face when the psychotic teacher leaned back.

When Nanoha finally left the table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the party favors, including a pack of combustible water balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Kappa kit, and her own new magic chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Nanoha had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Max's holiday dinner.

Nanoha and the Yagamis spent a happy afternoon having a furious Brave Duel match on the grounds. Then, hot, sweaty, and gasping for breath, they returned to the Kaiser common room, where Nanoha broke in her new chess set by losing spectacularly to Hayate. She suspected she wouldn't have lost so badly if Agito and Rein hadn't tried to help her so much.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, glazed carrots, tomato soup, and holiday cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Signum catch and strangle the life out of Agito and Rein because they had stolen her Knights badge.

It had been Nanoha's best holiday vacation ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of her mind all day. Not until she climbed into bed was she free to think about it: the Black Coats and whoever sent them. Hayate, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother her, fell asleep almost as soon as she had drawn the curtains of her bed. Nanoha leaned over the side of the bed and groped around the underside until she snatched one of the Coats.

Her father…these had once belonged to her father. She smoothed the material over her bed, made from heavy martial yet light as a feather. _Use them well_, the note had said.

She had to try it, now. She slipped out of bed, silently zipped the coat over her body, and pulled the hood over her head. Since it was nighttime, the dormitory was full of shadows with only the light of the twin moons shining through the windows. Looking down on herself, she saw only darkness where she stood. It was a very funny feeling.

_Use them well._

Suddenly, Nanoha felt wide awake. The whole of St. Hilde was open to her in this coat. Excitement flooded through her as she stood there in the dark and silence. She could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Punisher would never know. Hayate grunted in her sleep. Should Nanoha wake her up? Something held her back – her father's coat – she felt that this time – the first time – she wanted to use it alone.

She crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and crossed the archway, surprising the jewel that guarded the entrance. When the gem asked who was there, Nanoha didn't respond and walked quickly down the shifting hallway.

Where should she go? She stopped, her heart racing, and thought. And then it came to her. The Restricted Section in the Infinity Library. She would be able to read as long as she liked, as long as it took to find out who Edward was. She set off; making certain that the Black Coat was safely secured around her body.

The library was pitch-black and eerie; a perfect environment for her to sneak around undetected. Nanoha created a ball of pink light in her hand to see her way along the rows of books. The light looked something like those will-o-wisps Nanoha had read about and made her feel slightly creeped out. The Restricted Section was in one of the lower sections of the library. Floating carefully through the bands that separated these books from the rest of the library, she held up the light to read the titles.

They didn't tell her much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages even Raising Heart couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Nanoha's neck prickled. Maybe she was imagining it, maybe not, but she thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.

She had to start somewhere. Commanding the light to float freely, she looked along the lower shelves for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught her eyes. She pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on her knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence – the book was screaming! Nanoha snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. When she had opened the book, she had unknowingly shot the ball of light across the section and blasted a hole into one of the shelves. Panicking, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway outside – stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, she made a run for it. She passed Punisher in the doorway; his dark, unfeeling eyes looked straight at her, and Nanoha slipped under Punisher's outstretched arm and streaked off up the hallway, the book's shrieks still ringing in her ears.

She came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. She had been so busy getting away from the library, she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. Perhaps because it was dark, she didn't recognize where she was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, but she must be five floors above there.

"You asked me to come directly to you, sir, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library – Restricted Section."

Nanoha felt the blood drain out of her face. Wherever she was, Punisher must know a shortcut, because his rough, gravelly voice was getting nearer, and, to her astonishment, it was Jellal-Sensei who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Nanoha stood rooted to the spot as Punisher and Jellal-Sensei came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see her, of course, but it was a narrow hallway and if they came much nearer they would knock right into her – the coat didn't stop her from being solid.

She backed away as quietly as she could. The wall on the right side slipped sideways to create a door that stood ajar. It was her only hope. She squeezed through it, holding her breath, trying not to move it, and to her relief she managed to get inside the room without them noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Nanoha leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before she noticed anything about the room she had hidden in.

It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned trash can – but erected in the center of the room was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep out of the way.

It was a marble podium with a small display case that reflected the light that slipped through the windows. Inside the case, on top of silky, purple pillow was a small, bluish-purple orb. The orb gave off an eerie light that seemed to draw Nanoha closer. Her panic fading now that there was no sound of Punisher of Jellal-Sensei in the hallway, Nanoha moved nearer to the display case, wanting to look at the glowing jewel. She stepped in front of it.

She had to clap her hand to her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She whirled around the room – but she wasn't in the classroom anymore, she wasn't even at St. Hilde. She was in a large, comfy household that one would commonly find on Earth for large families. She wasn't in her Black Coat or Barrier Jacket, but nice Earth clothing that Nanoha had always wanted to try on, but Aunt Kurima would never even consider looking at. And when she looked to the family table next to the kitchen, Nanoha discovered that she wasn't alone.

Sitting around the table, which was piled with a warm turkey dinner, were four people Nanoha had never met. At the head was a dark haired man with a kind smile that contrasted with the deep scars on his forearms. On his right was a young man reaching close to his twenties that looked almost exactly like the older man and sitting opposite of him was dark-haired teenage girl with glasses slapping the young boy's hand away from the gravy. And the woman serving the dinner was tall and beauty with a warm motherly smile and she looked exactly like Nanoha!

Nanoha stood stunned in the middle of the living room. She had never seen these people before, but she knew who they were by heart.

"Mama?" she whispered. "Daddy? Kyoya? Miyuki?"

"Oh, hey, Nanoha," her older brother Kyoya said, waving her into the seat next to him. "What took you so long? We were just about to send Miyuki to go get you."

"She was probably busy studying for her next test," her father Shiro laughed. "She's a real chip off the old block, just like her mother."

"Oh dear, you're embarrassing me," said her mother Momoko, blushing at the compliment.

"Better she get it from mom than dad," said her sister Miyuki. "We already have enough meatheads in this house."

"HEY!"

Nanoha had no idea what was happening. She was on Earth with her long dead family, enjoying a hot and delicious meal made by her mother. But the more she thought about it, she more she realized that she didn't care about how it happened. She had dreamed of seeing her family since she was little – this was just too good to be true.

Nanoha didn't know how long she had been there, stuffing herself with turkey and laughing at the interactions between her siblings. If she was living in a dream world, she never wanted to wake up from it. Unfortunately, a distant noise brought Nanoha to her senses and the hapy household shattered around her, bringing her back to the classroom in her Black Coat. Realizing where she was, Nanoha knew she had to get back to bed before she was caught. She tore her eyes away from the glowing orb, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.

* * *

"You could have woken me up," said Hayate angrily.

"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the orb."

"I'd like to see your family," Hayate said eagerly.

"Maybe this will give me a chance to finally meet the rest of your family, too."

"Well, if you find them, let me know," said Hayate darkly, pushing away her plate of eggs, no longer hungry. "Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Edward, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"

Nanoha couldn't eat. She had seen her family and would be seeing them again tonight. She had almost forgotten about Edward. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared about what the Cerberus was guarding? What did it matter if Presea stole it, really?

Are you all right?" said Hayate. "You look weird."

* * *

What Nanoha feared most was that she might not be able to find the orb room again. After giving Hayate the second Black Coat, which she had accepted giddily, they walked down the hallways carefully the next night. They tried retracing Nanoha's route from the Infinity Library, wandering around the dark passages for nearly an hour.

"This is getting us nowhere," said Hayate. "Let's forget it and go back."

"_No!_" Nanoha hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."

They passed the fat Shinigami Captain Suì-Fēng had beat up on their first day going in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Hayate started moaning that her feet were dead tired from exhaustion, Nanoha spotted the suit of armor. They waited until the door slid into view and pushed it open. Nanoha pulled back her hood and ran to the display case. In an instant, Nanoha was back at the Takamachi house with Hayate next to her.

"See?" Nanoha whispered.

"I can't see anything."

"Look! Look at them all…all four of them sitting at the table…"

"The only people here are you and me."

"Look at it properly, go on, stand where I am."

Nanoha stepped aside, but with Hayate in front of the glowing orb, the Takamachi household shattered around her, looking only at Hayate in her Black Coat. Hayate, though, was staring transfixed at the orb.

"Look at me!" she said.

"Can you see all your family standing around you?"

"No – I'm alone – but I'm different – I look older – and I'm Lady Saint!"

"_What?_"

"I am – I'm wearing the badge like Zafira used to – and I'm holding the house cup and Riot Force cup – I'm Riot Force captain, too!" Hayate tore her eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Nanoha. "Do you think this orb shows the future?"

"How can it? All of my family is dead – let me have another look – "

"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."

"You're only holding the Riot Force cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my family."

"Don't push me – "

A sudden noise outside in the hallway put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking. Nanoha and Hayate pulled up their hoods, flattened themselves against the wall, and the prowling eyes of Max came around the door. Nanoha and Hayate stood very still, both thinking the same thing – did the Black Coats work on animals? After what seemed like ages, he turned and left.

"This isn't safe – he might have gone for Punisher, I bet he heard us. Come on."

And Hayate pulled Nanoha out of the room.

* * *

The sun was still beating down on them the next morning

"Want to play chess?" said Hayate.

"No."

"Why don't we go down and visit Schach and the others?"

"No…you go…"

"I know what you're thinking about, Nanoha, that orb. Don't go back tonight."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I've just got a bad feeling about it – and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Punisher, Jellal-Sensei, and Max are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"

"You're starting to sound like Signum."

"I'm serious, Nanoha, don't go."

But Nanoha only had one thought in her head, which was to get back in front of that orb, and Hayate wasn't going to stop her.

* * *

That third night she found her way more quickly than before. She was walking so fast she knew she was making more noise than was wise, but she didn't meet anyone.

And there was her mother, father, brother, and sister sitting in the living room, laughing at something funny on television. Nanoha sat on the couch next to her mother and leaned in, letting her older woman gently brush her hair. There was nothing to stop her from staying here all night with her family. Nothing at all. Except –

"So – back again, Nanoha?"

Nanoha felt as though her insides had turned to ice. The living room shattered as she looked behind her. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Carim Gracia. Nanoha must have walked straight past her, so desperate to get to the orb she hadn't noticed her.

"I – I didn't see you, ma'am."

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Carim, and Nanoha was relieved to see that she was smiling. Carim slipped off the desk to stand in front of the orb with Nanoha. "So you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Hōgyoku."

"I didn't know it was called that, ma'am."

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

" It – well – it shows me my family – "

"And it showed your friend Hayate herself as Lady Saint."

"How did you – ?"

"I don't need a coat to blend in to the shadows," said Carim gently. "Now, can you think what the Hōgyoku shows us all?" Nanoha shook her head. "Let me explain. The happiest man in the world would look into the Hōgyoku and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Nanoha thought. Then she said slowly. "It shows us what we want…whatever we want…"

"Yes and no," said Carim quietly. "When my friend, Kisuke Urahara, created the Crumbling Orb – or the Hōgyoku, as it is commonly called – he intended it to dissolve the boundary between man and beast. But instead, he created an orb that senses the hearts of those around it and materializes their deepest, most desperate desires. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Hayate Yagami, who has always been overshadowed by her siblings, sees herself standing alone, the best of them all. However, the Hōgyoku will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.

"The Hōgyoku will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Nanoha, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do _run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable coat back on and get off to bed?"

Nanoha stood up.

"What do you see when you look in the Hōgyoku?"

"Me? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks." Nanoha stared. "One can never have enough socks. Another Saint King's Day has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

It was only when she was back in bed that it struck Nanoha that Carim might not have been quite truthful. But then, she thought, as she shoved Pabu off her pillow, it had been quite a personal question.

* * *

**I'm happy about this chapter because it shows important elements for the story and gives Nanoha a more personal experience with her family than just staring at a mirror. I have also introduced the ever important Invisibility Cloak as a set of Black Coats. You may have noticed that there are four of them – this is very important in future stories. Next chapter introduces the hidden conspiracy behind St. Hilde's walls, so don't miss it.**


	13. Edward Elric

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Edward Elric**

Carim had convinced Nanoha not to go looking for the Hōgyoku again, and for the rest of the Saint King's holiday the three Black Coats stayed folded at the bottom of her luggage trunk - Nanoha decided to let Hayate keep the other one. Nanoha wished she could forget what she had seen in the Hōgyoku as easily, but she couldn't. She started having nightmares. Over and over again she dreamed about her family disappearing in a flash of vermillion light, while a spine chilling voice cackled with laughter.

"You see, Carim-Sama was right, that orb could have driven you insane," said Hayate, when Nanoha told her about these dreams.

Fate, who came back the day before the new term started, took a different view on things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Nanoha being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If the Punisher had caught you!"), and disappointment that she hadn't at least found out who Edward Elric was.

They had almost given up hope of ever finding Edward in a library book, even though Nanoha was still sure she had read the name somewhere. Once the new term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks, usually leaving the place a mess for Yuuno to pick up after. Nanoha had even less time than the other two, because Riot Force practice had started again.

Terra was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had thankfully replaced the blistering heat couldn't dampen her spirits. The Yagamis complained that Terra was becoming a fanatic, but Nanoha was on Terra's side. If they won their next match, against Hades, they would overtake Material in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Nanoha found that she had fewer nightmares when she was tired out after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Terra gave the team a bit of bad news. He had just gotten very angry with the Yagamis, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall out of the sky.

"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That is exactly the sort of thing that will lose us the match! Presea's refereeing this time, and she'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Kaiser!"

Rein Yagami really did lose her balance at these words and splattered face first into the mud.

"_Presea's _refereeing?" she spluttered. "When has she ever refereed a Riot Force match? She's not going to be fair if we might overtake Material."

The rest of the team landed next to Rein to complain, too.

"It's not _my _fault," said Terra. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so that Presea doesn't have an excuse to pick on us."

Which was all very well, thought Nanoha, but she had another reason for not wanting Presea near her while she was playing Riot Force. The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Nanoha headed straight back to the Kaiser common room, where she found Hayate and Fate playing chess. Chess was the only thing Fate ever lost at, something Nanoha and Hayate thought was very good for her, considering she was usually the best at everything.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Hayate when Nanoha sat down next to her, "I need to concen – " she caught sight of Nanoha's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

Speaking quietly so that no one could hear, Nanoha told the other two about Presea's sudden, sinister desire to be a Riot Force referee.

"Don't play," said Fate at once.

"Say that you're sick," said Hayate.

"Pretend to break your leg," Fate suggested.

"_Really _break your leg," said Hayate.

"**Might I suggest the Bone-Splitter Spell, Master?**" said Raising Heart helpfully.

"NO!" shrieked Nanoha. "I can't pretend to be hurt. There isn't a reserve Ace. If I back out, Kaiser can't play at all."

At that moment Subaru toppled into the common room. How she had managed to climb up the stairs and through the archway was anyone's guess, because her legs had been stuck together by a black ring which they recognized at once as Yuri Eberwein's Vesper Ring spell. She must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Kaiser Tower. Everyone fell over laughing except Teana, who leapt up and performed the counter spell. Subaru's legs sprang apart and she got to her feet, trembling.

"What happened?" Teana asked her, leading her over to sit with Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate.

"Yuri," said Subaru shakily. "I met her outside the Infinity Library. She said she had been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go tell Linith-Sensei," Teana urged Subaru. "Report her!"

Subaru shook her head.

"I don't want more trouble," she mumbled.

"You've got to stand up to her, Subaru!" said Hayate. "She's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of her and make it easier."

"You don't need to tell me that I'm not brave enough to be in Kaiser, Yuri's already done that," Subaru choked out.

Nanoha felt in the pocket of her Barrier Jacket and pulled out a Chocolate Device, the very last one from the box Fate had given her for Saint King's Day. She gave it to Subaru, who looked as though she might cry.

"You're worth twelve of Yuri," Nanoha said. "Cosmos chose you for Kaiser, didn't she? And where's Yuri? In stupid Material."

Subaru's lip twitched in a weak smile as she unwrapped the Device.

"Thanks, Nanoha-San…I think I'll go to bed…Do you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

As Teana helped her best friend up to bed, Nanoha looked at the card Subaru had given her.

"Carim-Sama again," she said, "She was the first one I ever – "

She gasped. She stared at the back of the card. Then looked up at Hayate and Fate.

"_I found him!_" she whispered. "I found Edward Elric! I _told _you I had read the name somewhere before, I read it on the _Arthra _coming here – listen to this: 'Carim is particularly famous for her defeat of the Keyblade Master Xehanort, for her ground breaking contribution to Dragon Slayer Magic, _and her work on alchemy with her partners, Edward Elric and Kisuke Urahara'_!"

"Isn't Urahara the guy who made that orb?" said Hayate.

"It must be," said Nanoha. "And Edward Elric must be a famous alchemist, according to this."

Fate jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked this excited since they had gotten their first graded homework for Scientific Research and she was the only one to get a perfect score. She sprinted up the stairs to their dormitory and there was a lot of shuffling coming from it; Teana shrieked in surprise. Nanoha and Hayate barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, carrying an enormous book the size of her chest.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the Infinity Library weeks ago for a little light reading over the holidays."

"This is light?" said Hayate, but Fate had told her to be quiet until she had looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself. At last she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I _knew _it!"

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Hayate grumpily. Fate ignored her.

"Edward Elric, also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist," she whispered dramatically, "is recorded in history as the youngest State Alchemist, one of few people to perform Alchemy without a circle, _and is credited as the creator of the Blood of Panacea_!"

This didn't have quite the effect she had expected.

"The what?" said Nanoha and Hayate.

"You mean you don't know about it?" Fate blinked surprisingly. "I thought everyone knew. Scientists have been trying for centuries to recreate it, but not even mother has been successful."

"In case you haven't noticed," said Hayate, "not everyone has a scientist for a mother."

Fate blushed with embarrassment, pushed the book toward them, and Nanoha and Hayate read:

_The ancient study of Alchemy is hallmarked by the creation  
of the Philosopher's stone, a legendary substance with the  
power to bend the laws of Alchemy. The stone will transform  
any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life,  
also known as Panacea, which will make the drinker immortal._

_Because of its requirement for human lives, the practice of  
making the Philosopher's Stone has been deemed illegal by the  
Time-Space Administration Bureau. However, recent groundbreaking  
study discovered by Mr. Edward Elric, the famed Fullmetal Alchemist,  
has found an unheard of method for creating an alternative substance  
that mimics the properties of the Philosopher's Stone without the  
necessity for sacrificing human lives._

_After many years of research, Mr. Elric created the substitute to the  
Philosopher's Stone, which he has called the Blood of Panacea. There  
have been many reports of attempting to replicate the Blood of Panacea  
over the centuries, but the only one currently in existence belongs to  
Mr. Elric. Mr. Elric, who celebrated his eight hundred and sixty-eighth  
birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Resembool with his wife, Winry.  
_

"See?" said Fate, when Nanoha and Hayate had finished. "The Cerberus must be guarding the Blood of Panacea! I bet Edward asked Carim-Sama to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Panacea moved out of Reichtum!"

"An object that can bend the laws of Alchemy and stops you from ever dying!" said Nanoha. "No wonder Presea's after it! _Anyone_ would want it!"

"And no wonder we couldn't find Edward in that _Study of Recent Developments in Magic,_" said Hayate. "If the guy is eight hundred and sixty-eight years old, he's not exactly recent, is he?"

* * *

The next morning in Tactical Combat Instruction, while copying down different ways of evading and capturing lycanthrope, Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate were still discussing what they would do with the Blood of Panacea if they had one. It wasn't until Hayate said she would create enough credits to buy her own Riot Force team that Nanoha remembered about Presea and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," she told Hayate and Fate. "If I don't, all the Materials will think I'm just too scared to face Presea. I'll show them…it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Fate.

"Mou, why do you have to say it like that!" Nanoha whined.

* * *

As the match drew closer, however, Nanoha became more and more nervous, whatever he told Hayate and Fate. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Material in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Nanoha didn't know whether she was imaging it or not, but she seemed to keep running into Presea wherever she went. At times, she even wondered whether Presea was following her, trying to catch her on her own. Scientific Research classes were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Presea was so horrible to Nanoha. Could Presea possibly know they had found out about the Blood of Panacea? Nanoha didn't see how she could – yet she sometimes had the horrible feeling that Presea could read minds.

* * *

Nanoha knew, when they wished her good luck outside the locker room the next afternoon, that Hayate and Fate were wondering whether they would ever see her alive again. This wasn't what you would call comforting. Nanoha hardly heard a word of Terra's pep talk as she pulled on her Riot Force uniform and had Raising Heart create the Axel Fins at her feet.

Hayate and Fate, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Subaru and Teana, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their Devices to the match. Little did Nanoha know that Hayate and Fate had been secretly practicing their Binding Spells. They had gotten the idea from Yuri using it on Subaru, and were ready to use them on Presea if she showed any sign of wanting to hurt Nanoha.

"Now, don't forget, aim for the ankles, that's mother's weakest point," Fate muttered as Hayate slipped the cross necklace of Schwertkreuz under her shirt.

"I _know_," Hayate complained. "You don't need to remind me."

Back in the locker room, Terra had taken Nanoha aside.

"Don't want to pressure you or anything, Takamachi, but if we ever needed an early capture of the Jewel Seed it's now. Finish the game before Presea can favor Hades too much."

"How does that not pressure me?" asked Nanoha worried.

"The whole school's out there!" said Agito Yagami, peering out of the door. "Even – Saint King – Carim-Sama's come to watch!"

Nanoha's heart did a somersault.

"_Carim-Sama?_" she said, dashing to the door to make sure.

Agito was right. There was no mistaking the curtain of gold that was Carim's hair – it shined in a way Fate's never could. Nanoha could have laughed out loud with relief. She was safe. There was simply no was that Presea would dare to try and hurt her if Carim was watching. Perhaps that was why Presea was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Hayate noticed, too.

"I don't think I've seen Presea look so mean before," she told Fate. "Look – they're off. Ouch!"

Someone poked Hayate in the back of the head. It was Yuri.

"Oh, sorry, Yagami, didn't see you there." Yuri grinned broadly at the Florian Twins. "Wonder how long Takamachi's going to stay in the air this time? Anyone wanna bet? What about you, Yagami?"

Hayate didn't answer; Presea had just awarded Hades a penalty kick because Rein Yagami had punched a Gadget at her. Fate, who had all her finger crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Nanoha, who was floating close to the ground, looking from a lower vantage point to search for the Jewel Seed.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Kaiser team?" said Yuri loudly a few minutes later, as Presea awarded Hades another penalty kick for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Takamachi, who's got no family, then there's the Yagamis, who've got no money – you should be on the team, Nakajima, you've got no brains."

Teana turned around to tell her off, but Subaru looked back at Yuri with narrowed eyes.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Yuri," she said sternly.

Yuri and the Florian Twins howled with laughter, but Hayate, still not daring to take her eyes from the game, said, "You tell her, Subaru."

"Nakajima, if brains were credits you would be poorer than the Yagamis, and that's saying something."

Hayate's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Nanoha.

"I'm warning you, Yuri – one more word – "

"Hayate!" said Fate suddenly, "Nanoha – "

"What? Where?"

Nanoha zoomed across the field low to the ground and dropped to a skidding halt across the grass, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Fate stood up, waving her arms excitedly, as Raising Heart shifted to Shooting Mode and began charging for Nanoha's signature Divine Buster.

"You're in luck, Yagami, Takamachi's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Yuri.

Hayate snapped. Before Yuri knew what was happening, Hayate was on top of her, wrestling her to the ground while beating the butt of Schwertkreuz against her ribs. Subaru quickly clambered over the back of her seat and Teana tried to pull her back with little success.

"Come on, Nanoha!" Fate screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Nanoha took aim in the direction of Presea – she didn't even notice Hayate and Yuri rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Subaru, Teana, and the Florian Twins.

"**DIVINE BUSTER!**" Nanoha shouted for the whole stadium to hear.

Like last time, a current of massive pink energy twice as big as Nanoha exploded from Raising Heart's head. Up in the air, Presea only just dodged out of the way of the Divine Buster, missing her by a few feet. The next second, the Jewel Seed was floating helplessly in a prison of sakura-pink energy. The stands erupted; it had to be a record – not a world record, but at least in the school – for no one could ever remember the Jewel Seed being caught so quickly.

"Hayate! Hayate! Where are you? The game's over! Nanoha won! We've won! Kaiser is in the lead!" cheered Fate, dancing up and down on her seat until she realized everyone was looking at her, and shuffled down with her cheeks tinged red.

Raising Heart released steam from her twin pistons, transforming back into her default mode. Nanoha couldn't believe it. She had done it – the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Kaisers came spilling onto the field, she saw Presea land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped – then Nanoha felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Carim's smiling face.

"Well done," said Carim quietly, so that only Nanoha could hear. "It's nice to see you haven't been brooding about the Hōgyoku…been keeping busy…excellent…"

Presea spat bitterly on the ground.

* * *

Nanoha left the locker room alone some time later, hoping to visit Schach and tell her all about the match. She couldn't ever remember feeling happier. She had really done something to be proud of in her last two matches – no one could say she was just a famous name anymore. The evening air never smelled so sweet. She walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in her head, which was a happy blur; Kaisers running to lift her onto their shoulders; Hayate and Fate in the distance, jumping up and down, Hayate cheering through a heavy nosebleed.

Nanoha was halfway across the grounds to Schach's shack. She stopped for a moment and looked up at St. Hilde, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Kaiser was in the lead. She had done it. She had shown Presea…and speaking of Presea…

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the church. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Nanoha's victory faded from her mind as she watched. She recognized the figure's prowling walk. Presea, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner – what was going on?

"**Axel Fin!**" said Raising Heart

The feathery wings returned to Nanoha's feet and she took off. Gliding silently over the church she saw Presea enter the forest at a run. She followed.

The trees were so thick she couldn't see where Presea had gone. She flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of the trees until she heard voices. She glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree. She climbed carefully along one of the branches, grappling another branch for security, trying to see through the leaves.

Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Presea, but she wasn't alone. Jellal-Sensei was there, too. Nanoha couldn't make out his face because of the dark hood he had over it, but she did recognize his voice; it was lower and more chilling than usual. Nanoha strained to catch what they were trying to say.

"…don't know why you had to call me all the way out here when the church was perfectly fine, Presea…"

"Oh, I thought we would keep this private," said Presea, her voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Blood of Panacea, after all."

Nanoha leaned forward. Jellal-Sensei was muttering something under his breath. Presea interrupted him.

"Have you figured out how to get past that beast of Schach's yet?"

"Not yet, but I – "

"You better get your act together, Fernandes," said Presea, taking a step toward him. "You don't want to make an enemy of me."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"That is for you to interpret."

An owl hooted loudly, and Nanoha nearly fell out of the tree. She steadied herself to hear Presea say, " – get the job done quickly. My patience is beginning to wear thin."

"You worry about your students, and I'll do my part," said Jellal.

"Very well," said Presea. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and when you have decided to bring me any worthwhile information."

She threw her hood over her head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Nanoha could see Jellal-Sensei standing quite still, as though thinking about what Presea had said.

* * *

"Nanoha, where have you been?" asked Fate, having somehow been coerced into Hayate's maid outfit in the hallway.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Hayate while still snapping photo of Maid Fate. "And I gave Yuri a black eye, and Subaru actually knocked out both Amitie and Kyrie with just one punch! Subaru! I swear, she acts like a crybaby all the time, but she could bring down buildings with her fists is she wanted to. Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Agito and Rein stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," said Nanoha breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, wait until you hear this…"

She made sure Loki wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then she told them what she had seen and heard.

"So we were right, it _is _the Blood of Panacea, and Presea's not working alone, she has Jellal-Sensei helping her get it. She asked if he knew how to get past Fifi – and she said something about Jella-Sensei 'getting the job done' – so I think there's something else keeping them from the Panacea besides Fifi. There might be other spells and defense mechanisms to keep people away from the Panacea. Jellal-Sensei has experience with dark magic and is the Tactical Combat Instructor, so he'll know how to deal with this kind of stuff."

"So you mean the Blood of Panacea is only safe as long as they don't find out how to get past Fifi?" said Hayate in alarm.

"**I believe I speak for everyone, Sir, when I say: we are screwed.**" Said Bardiche.

* * *

**New alliances and secret conspiracies taking place in the shadows of St. Hilde's walls! Now that Presea and Jellal have teamed up, it will be even harder for Nanoha and her friends to save the day. The next chapter is one that will hopefully draw some humor to the story, so wait patiently until then.**


	14. Spyro the Amethyst Drake

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Spyro the Amethyst Drake**

Jellal, however, must have been more unsuccessful than they had originally believed. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting frustrated and less focused in each class, so it didn't look as though he had figured out the secret yet.

Every time they passed the sixth-floor corridor, Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate would press their ears to the door to check the Fifi was still growling inside. Presea was sweeping about in her usual temper, which surely meant that the Panacea was still safe. Whenever Nanoha passed Jellal these days she gave him a wide berth with a suspicious stare, and Hayate had taken it upon herself to follow him during her free hours to make sure he wasn't up to something.

Fate, however, had more on her mind than the Blood of Panacea. She had drawn up study schedules and color-coded all her notes. Nanoha and Hayate wouldn't have mind, but she kept nagging them to do the same.

"Fate-Chan, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Fate snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Edward Elric."

"But we're not eight hundred years old," Hayate reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They are very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what has gotten into me…Oh, if mother knew…"

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Fate. They piled so much homework on them that the Fall Holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Saint King ones. It was hard to relax with Fate next to you reciting the three fundamental sequences of alchemy or practicing aerial combat spells with Nanoha. Moaning and yawning, Nanoha and Hayate spent most of their free time in the Infinity Library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.

"I'll never remember this!" Hayate burst out one afternoon, throwing the book over her head for Yuuno to chase and wishing longingly to be outside. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue that would make people forget that winter was swiftly approaching.

Nanoha, who was looking up Crimson Clovers in _Plants Species and their Properties__, didn't look up until she heard Hayate say, "Schach! What are you doing in the library?"_

Schach floated into view, hiding something behind her back. She looked very out of place in her wolverine hide overcoat.

"Just looking," she said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "And what are you three up to?" She looked suddenly suspicious. "You're not still looking for Edward Elric, are you?"

"No, we found out who he is ages ago," said Hayate impressively. "_And_ we know what that Cerberus is guarding, it's the Blood of Pa – "

"_Shhhh!_" Schach looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don't go shouting about it, what's the matter with you?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Nanoha, "about what is guarding the Panacea apart from Fifi – "

"SHHHH!" said Schach again. "Listen – come and see me later, I'm not promising I'll tell you anything, mind you,, but don't go rambling about it in here, students aren't supposed to know. They'll think I've told you – "

"See you later, then," said Nanoha.

Schach hovered to the door.

"What was she hiding behind her back?" said Fate thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Panacea?"

"I'm going to see what section she was in," said Hayate, who'd had enough working. She came back a minute later with a pile of books in her arms and slammed them down on the table.

"_Dragons!_" she whispered. "Schach was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: _Dragon Species across Dimensions; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Tamer's Guide_."

"Why would Schach need those?" asked Nanoha. "Caro's the Dragon Tamer, so she should know all about that stuff. Though that doesn't explain why she was so secretive about it. I mean, it's not like there's anything wrong with raising a dragon."

"Not all dragons are tamable," said Hayate. "There are still species of dragon that even the best members of the Ru Lushe Clan can't control like the Black Fire Dragons from Alzas or the Fioren Mystics from Earthland. Not to say that they aren't intelligent – they are some of the brightest creatures there are – but some of them are too savage to control. Some of the biggest threats in magical history were dragons like Acnologia."

"But there aren't any untamable dragons on Mid-Childa?" said Nanoha.

"Of course there are," said Fate. "You won't find them around St. Hilde, but there are Red Deaths and Flame Atlas'. The Space-Time Administration Bureau usually has to call the Dimensional Navy for assistance when the Ru Lushe Clan are unable to incapacitate them. "

"So what on Mid-Childa is Schach up to?" said Hayate.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it's a bad idea, Schach,"

"And I'm telling you you're worrying too much,"

When Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate arrived at the gamekeeper's shack an hour later, they were surprised to hear Schach and Caro locked in a heated argument through the closed windows. Erio called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It was stifling hot inside – a complete contrast from the blustery weather that had started outside. There was a blazing fire in the grate, which Caro was pointing at furiously to Schach, who was shaking her head in protest. Erio made them tea and offered them sandwiches, but they refused when he forgot the teabags and used sheep liver instead of ham. Schach managed to get in one final word with Caro before dropping into the chair at the table.

"So – you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yes," said Nanoha. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what is guarding the Blood of Panacea apart from Fifi."

Schach frowned at her.

"Of course I can't," she said. "Number one, I don't know myself. Number two, you know too much already, so I wouldn't tell you if I could. The Panacea is here for a good reason. It was almost stolen out of Reichtum – I suppose you've worked that out and all? Beats me how you even know about Fifi."

"Oh, come on, Schach, you might not want to tell us, but you _do_ know, you know everything that goes around here," said Hayate in a warm, flattering voice. Schach's lips twitched upward and they could tell she was resisting the urge to smile. "We only wondered who did the guarding," Hayate went on. "We wondered who Carim-Sama had trusted enough to help her, apart from you."

Schach's chest swelled at these last words. Nanoha and fate beamed at their friend.

"Well, I don't suppose it could hurt to tell you that," said Schach; Erio and Caro groaned at her. "Let's see…she borrowed Fifi from me…then some of the teachers did their own work…Hashirama-Sensei – Professor Stein – Linith Sensei – " she ticked off on her fingers, "And Carim-Sama herself did something, of course. Who else am I forgetting? Who was it…oh yeah, Presea-Sensei and Jellal-Sensei, too."

"Presea _and _Jellal!"

"Yeah – you're not still on about that, are you?" look, Presea-Sensei helped _protect_ the Panacea, she's not about to steal it."

Nanoha knew Fate and Hayate were thinking the same as she was. If Presea and Jellal had worked together in the protection of the Panacea, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. They probably knew everything – except, it seemed, how to get past Fifi.

"You're the only one who knows to get past Fifi, aren't you, Schach?" said Nanoha anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me and Carim-Sama," said Schach proudly.

"Well, that's something," Nanoha muttered to the others. "Erio, can you open a window or something? I'm boiling in here."

"Can't do that, Nanoha," said Erio, who had taken off his heavy jacket, sweating hard. "Schach said not to open anything because of the uh…"

Nanoha noticed the three employees of St. Hilde glancing at the fire. Nanoha looked at it, too.

"Schach – what is _that_?"

But she already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, purple egg.

"That is a disaster waiting to happen," said Caro disdainfully, which was very unusual for her. "I keep telling Schach to take it back, but…"

"Where did you get it, Schach?" said Fate, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must have cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Schach. "Last night. I was down at the Belkan District having a few drinks and got into a game of cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad to get rid of it, to be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hayate. "Are you going to raise it, Caro?"

"This is way beyond my range of taming," said Caro. "That's why I keep telling Schach that we can't keep it."

"Well, I've been doing some reading," said Schach, ignoring Caro's heated glare while pulling a large book from under her pillow. "I got this out of the library – _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit – _it's a bit out of date, of course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, because their mothers like to breathe on them, see, and when it hatches, feed it on a bucket of strong liquor mixed with chicken blood every half hour. And see here – how to recognize different eggs – what I got there is an Amethyst Drake."

"An Amethyst Drake!" yelled Hayate. Nanoha jumped at the sudden shout and Fate backed away from the egg as if it would bite. "Do you know how dangerous Amethyst Drakes are? They are the only species of dragon that can learn multiple elements and a lot of them went bad. You've heard the stories of Malefor, haven't you?"

But Schach wasn't listening. She was humming merrily as she stoked the fire.

* * *

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happened to Schach and the others if anyone found out they were hiding an illegal, untamable dragon in her shack.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Hayate sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Fate had now started making study schedules for Nanoha and Hayate, too. They loved Fate to death, but she was starting to drive them nut.

Then, one breakfast time, Lucy brought Nanoha another note from Schach. She had written only two words: _It's hatching. _Hayate wanted to skip Environmental Studies and go straight down to the shack, but Fate wouldn't hear of it.

"Fate, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"You've already seen them eight times, remember? Anyway, we've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Schach's going to be in when someone finds out what she's doing –"

"Shut up!" Nanoha whispered.

Yuri was only a few feet away and she had stopped dead to listen. How much had she heard? Nanoha didn't like the look on Yuri's face at all.

Hayate and Fate argued all the way to Environmental Studies and in the end, Fate agreed to run down to Schach's with the other two during the morning break. When the bell sounded from the church at the end of the lesson, the three of them dropped their buckets of stinkweed at once, removed their gas masks, and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Schach greeted them, looking flushed and excited, as opposed the concerned looks of Erio and Caro.

"It's nearly out." She ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped on the table. Nanoha thought it looked like a crumpled, purple umbrella. Its ridged wings were huge compared to its skinny violet body; it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the golden stubs of horns to grow and bulging, purple eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he _beautiful_?" Schach murmured. She reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at her fingers, showing pointed fangs. "Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!"

"Caro," said Fate, "exactly how fast do Amethyst Drakes grow?"

Caro was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from her face – Erio seemed to have noticed and ran to the window with Strada in is hand.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was looking through the gap in the curtains – it's a student – she's running back to the church."

Nanoha bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking her – Yuri had seen the dragon.

* * *

Something about the smile lurking on Yuri's face during the next week made Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Schach's darkened shack, trying to reason with her.

"Just let him go," Nanoha urged. "Set him free."

"I can't," said Schach. "He's too little. He would die."

"I don't think that would be a problem," said Erio.

They looked at the Dragon Knight, who was keeping the beast at bay with his Device. It had grown three times in size in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Schach hadn't been doing her gamekeeper duties because the dragon was keeping her so busy and often kept Caro and Erio distracted from training the other dragons. The only thing that had seemed to frighten the dragon back into a corner was when Fried peered through the window, growling menacingly if the little beast had stepped out of line.

"I've decided to call him Spyro," said Schach, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Spyro! Spyro! Where's mommy?"

"She's lost her marbles," Hayate muttered in Nanoha's ear.

"Schach," said Fate loudly, "give it two weeks and Spyro's going to be as big as your house. Yuri could go Carim-Sama at any moment and it won't be just you who will be in trouble. Think about Erio and Caro."

Schach bit her lip.

"I – I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't just dump him."

"What if you didn't have to," said Caro quietly, looking away from everyone's piercing stares. "I have a cousin on Alzas who owes me a favor for helping him with a particularly nasty Motherglare a few years back. I could ask him if he would be willing to take Spyro back to Alzas to live with the other dragons."

"Brilliant!" said Hayate. "How about it, Schach?"

And in the end, Schach agreed that they could send a Fay to Caro's cousin to ask him.

* * *

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Nanoha and Fate sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the archway burst open. Hayate stepped out of the shadows and pulled back the hood of her Black Coat. She had been down at Schach's shack, helping her feed Spyro, who was now eating dead rats by the barrel.

"It bit me!" she said, showing them her hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a pen for a week. I tell you, that dragon is the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Schach goes on about it; you would think it was a fluffy little bunny – like the kinda Vita loves. When it bit me she told me off for frightening it. And when I left, she was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window. A miniature white dragon was flapping just outside.

"Is that Fried?" asked Nanoha.

"It must be," said Fate, hurrying over to let him in. "Fried is a Silver Flying Dragon – they can alternate in size."

The tiny Fried glided over their heads, dropped a letter in Nanoha's lap, and flew out the window. The three of them put their heads together to read the note.

_**Dear Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate,**_

_**I finally managed to get a letter to my cousin on Alzas. He said he would be glad to take the Amethyst Drake off our hands, but it's not getting him out. He thinks the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of his who are coming to visit him next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal, untamable dragon.**_

_**Could you get Spyro up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.**_

_**Send me an answer as soon as possible.**_

_**Caro Ru Lushe**_

They looked at one another.

"We've got the Black Coats," said Nanoha. "It shouldn't be too difficult – I think two of us could carry Spyro if we threw a third over top of him."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with her. Anything to get rid of Spyro – and Yuri.

* * *

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Hayate's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. She didn't know whether it was safe to go to Doctor Chopper – would he recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, she had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. Fate said that Amethyst Drakes could learn multiple elements – it looked like Spyro had learned poison in a short time.

Nanoha and Fate rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Hayate in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," she whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Yuri told Doctor Chopper she wanted to borrow one of my books so she could come and have a good laugh at me. She kept threatening to tell him what really bit me – I've told him it was a stray cobra, but I don't think he believes me – I shouldn't have hit her at the Riot Force match, that's why she's doing this."

Nanoha and Fate tried to calm Hayate down.

"It will be all over at midnight on Saturday," said Fate. But this didn't soothe Hayate at all. On the contrary, she sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" she said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no – oh no – I've just remembered – Caro's letter was in that book Yuri took, she's going to know we're getting rid of Spyro."

Nanoha and Fate didn't get a chance to answer. Doctor Chopper came over at the moment and made them leave, saying Hayate needed sleep.

* * *

"It's too late to change the plan now," Nanoha told Fate. "We haven't got time to send another letter to Caro's cousin, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Spyro. We'll have to risk it. And we _have _got the Black Coats, Yuri doesn't know about them."

They found Erio standing guard outside the shack with a bandaged leg when they went to tell Schach, who opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," she puffed; Caro screamed inside. "Spyro's in a tricky stage – nothing we can't handle."

"We _can't _handle this!" said Caro.

When they told her about the letter and how Yuri might expose them, her eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Spyro had just bitten her on the leg.

"Arrgh! It's all right, he only got my boot – just playing – he's only a baby after all."

The baby banged its horned head against the wall, making the window rattle. Nanoha and Fate walked back to the church feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

* * *

They would have felt sorry for Schach when the time came for her to say good bye to Spyro if they hadn't been worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a little late arriving at Schach's shack because they had to wait for Loki to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he had been playing tennis against the wall. Erio finished tightening the final strap on Spyro's crate when they had arrived.

"He's got lots of rats and some liquor for the journey," said Schach in a muffled voice. "And I've packed his dragonfly plushy in case gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Nanoha as though the dragonfly was having head ripped off.

"Bye-bye, Spyro!" Schach sobbed, and Nanoha and Fate covered the crate with their remaining Black Coat and threw on their hoods. "Mommy will never forget you!"

"Try not to come back!" shouted Caro.

"And please forget to write!" called Erio.

How they managed to get the crate back up to the church, they never knew. Midnight ticked closer as they heaved Spyro up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the shifting hallways. Up another staircase, then another – even one of Fate's shortcuts didn't make the work easier.

"Nearly there!" Nanoha panted as they reached the hallway beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. They shrank back into the shadows to strengthen the effects of the Black Coats, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared – Nanoha and Fate backed away from it.

Linith-Sensei, in a silken nightgown, had Yuri by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Material! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how _dare _you – "

"You don't understand, Sensei. Nanoha Takamachi is coming – she's got an Amethyst Drake!"

"What a load of bull! How dare you tell such lies! Come on – I shall see that Presea-Sensei properly disciplines you, Ms. Eberwein!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest in the world after that. Not until they had stepped out into the cold night air did they throw pull off their coats and uncovered Spyro's crate, glad to be out of danger. Nanoha did a sort of dance that Fate laughed at behind her hand.

"Yuri's got detention! I could sing!"

"Please don't," Fate advised her.

Chuckling about Yuri, they waited. Spyro thrashing about in his crate – it sounded like he was learning to talk and the words he chose we're nice. About ten minutes later, four men riding tamed dragons like Fried came swooping down out of the darkness.

The dragon riders were a cheery bunch. They showed Nanoha and Fate the harness they had rigged up, so they could suspend Spyro between them. They all buckled Spyro safely into it and then Nanoha and Fate shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Spyro was going…going…_gone._

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Spyro was off them. No more wild dragons – Yuri was in detention – what could spoil their happiness? The answer to that was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the hallway, they found themselves at gunpoint with the Punisher's face looming over them.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we _are _in trouble."

They had forgotten the Black Coats on top of the tower.

* * *

**And that about wraps it up for this chapter. We are reaching close to the end of the story and the surprise plot twist that you have all been waiting for. The chapter will finally introduce the main villain in secret as well as a new ally to Nanoha and her friends that will be useful in later stories. Until then, read and review.**


	15. The Forbidden Forest

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Forbidden Forest**

Things couldn't have been worse.

Punisher took them at gunpoint down to Linith-Sensei's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Fate was trembling, possibly at the thought of how angry her mother would be when she found out. Excuses, alibies, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Nanoha's brain, each more feeble than the last. She couldn't see how they were going get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the Black Coats? There was no reason on Mid-Childa that Linith-Sensei would accept them being out of bed and creeping around the church in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Spyro and the Black Coats, and they might as well be packing their bags already.

Had Nanoha thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong. When Linith-Sensei appeared, she was leading, to their surprise, Teana Lancaster.

"Nanoha-San!" Teana burst out, the moment she saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Yuri saying she was going to catch you, she said you had an illegal dra – "

Nanoha shook her head violently to shut Subaru up, but Linith-Sensei had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Spyro as she towered over the three of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Castle says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. _Explain yourselves_."

It was the first time Fate or Teana had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. Fate was staring at her boots, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Linith-Sensei. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Yuri Eberwein some cock-and-bull story about an illegal dragon, trying to get her out of bed and into trouble. I have already caught her. I suppose you think it's funny that Lancaster here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Nanoha caught Teana's eye and tried to tell her without words that this wasn't true, because Teana was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, unsuspecting Subaru – Nanoha knew what it must have cost her to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"I am disgusted," said Linith-Sensei. "Four students out of bed in one night! I have never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Testarossa, I thought you had more sense given who your mother is. As for you, Miss Takamachi, I thought Kaiser meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions – yes, you too, Miss Lancaster, _nothing _give you the right to walk around the church at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous – and fifty points will be taken from Kaiser."

"_Fifty?_" Nanoha gasped – they would lose the lead, the lead she had won in the last Riot Force match.

"Fifty points _each_," said Linith-Sensei, breathing heavily.

"Sensei – please – "

"You _can't _– "

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do, Takamachi. Now, get back to bed, all of you. I have never been more ashamed of Kaiser students."

A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Kaiser in last place. in one night, they had ruined any chances Kaiser had of winning the house cup. Nanoha felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. How could they ever make up for this? Nanoha didn't sleep all night. She could hear Teana sobbing quietly into her pillow for what seemed like hours. Nanoha couldn't think of anything to say to comfort her. She knew Teana, like herself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Kaiser found out what they had done?

At first, Kaisers passing the house point counters in the entrance hall the next day thought there had been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Nanoha Takamachi and Fate Testarossa, the celebrity duo that had earned Kaiser more points than anyone else, had lost them all those points, them and another stupid first year.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the church, Nanoha and Fate were suddenly the most hated. Even Hades and Hegemon turned on them, because everyone had been longing to see Material lose the house cup. Everywhere they went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted them. Materials, on the other hand, clapped as they walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks, you two, we owe you one!"

Only Hayate stood by them.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Agito and Rein have lost tons of points in all the time they have been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Fate miserably.

"Well – no," Hayate admitted.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Nanoha swore to herself not to meddle in things that weren't her business from now on. She'd had it with sneaking around and spying. She felt so ashamed of herself that she went to Terra and offered to resign from the Riot Force team.

"_Resign?_" Terra thundered. "What good will that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Riot Force?"

But even Riot Force had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Nanoha during practice, and if they had to speak about her, they would call her 'the Ace' – and not even the Ace of Aces.

Teana Lancaster was suffering, too. She didn't have as bad of a time as Nanoha and Fate, because she wasn't as well-known, but nobody would speak to her other than her best friend, Subaru. Teana had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.

Nanoha was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying she had to do kept her mind off her misery. She, Fate, and Hayate kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in a complex compound, learn difficult spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and the Hollow Invasions…

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Nanoha's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern her was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on her own one afternoon, she heard somebody shouting from a classroom up ahead. As she drew closer, she heard Jellal's voice.

"I'm telling you, it's just not – "

"I don't want to hear any excuses from you, Fernandes. I want it done."

That was Presea's voice. Nanoha moved closer.

"All right – all right – " she heard Jellal sigh.

"Next second, Jellal came hurrying out of the classroom with a hand ruffling through his hair. He looked tired than usual, as there were dark circles under his eyes. He strode out of sight; Nanoha didn't think Jellal had even noticed her. She waited until Jellal's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Nanoha was halfway toward it before she remembered what she had promised herself about not meddling.

All the same, she would have gambled twelve Panaceas that Presea had quickly darted out of the room, and from what Nanoha had just heard, Presea was growing more frustrated of her lack of progress. It didn't seem long before she would try something.

Nanoha went back to the Infinity Library, where Fate was testing Hayate on Astronomy. Nanoha told them what she had heard.

"Presea must be close to losing it," said Hayate. "With Jellal working for her, they must have figured out how to break through all the Anti-Dark Magic work – "

"There's still Fifi, though," said Fate.

"Maybe Presea's found out how to get past her without asking Schach," said Hayate, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here that tells you how to get past a Cerberuses. So what do we do, Nanoha?"

The light of adventure was kindling again in Hayate's eyes, but Fate answered before Nanoha could.

"Go to Carim-Sama. That's what we should have done from the beginning. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out faster than a Suldarian Mud Rat."

"But we've got no _proof_!" said Nanoha. "Jellal will never admit to working with your mother. Presea's only got to say she doesn't know how the chimera got in at Hollow's Eve and that she was nowhere near the sixth floor – who do you think they will believe, her or us? It's not exactly a secret that we hate her; Carim-Sama will think we made it up to get her fired. The Punisher wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Jellal, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Panacea or Fifi. That will take a whole lot of explaining."

Fate looked convinced, but Hayate didn't.

"If we do just a little poking around – "

"No," said Nanoha flatly, "we've done enough poking around."

She pulled a map of Shili toward her and started to learn the name of its moons.

* * *

The following morning, notes were delivered to Nanoha, Fate, and Teana at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

_**Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Castle in the entrance hall.**_

_**Linith Nisei**_

Nanoha had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they had lost. She half expected Fate to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Nanoha, she felt they deserved what they had got.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said good bye to Hayate and Subaru in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Teana. The Punisher was already there – and so was Yuri. Nanoha had also forgotten that Yuri had gotten detention, too.

"Follow me," said Punisher, clicking on the flashlight and leading them outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking the rules again, won't you, eh? Oh yes…hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me…it's just a pity they let the old punishments die out…hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep them well-oiled in case they are ever needed…right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it will be worse for you if you do."

They marched off across the dark grounds. Teana sniffled a few times. Nanoha wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Punisher wouldn't be sounding so delighted. The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Nanoha could see the lightened windows of Schach's shack. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Frank? Hurry up, I want to get started."

Nanoha's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Schach it wouldn't be so bad. Her relief must have shown in her face, because Punisher said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that idiot? Well, think again, kid – it's into the forest you're going and I'm very mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Yuri stopped dead in her tracks.

"The forest?" she repeated, and she didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night – there's all kinds of things in there – Hollows, I heard."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Punisher, his voice cracking with glee. "Should have thought of them Hollows before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Schach came striding toward them out of the dark with Erio at her side. Both of them had changed into their Barrier Jackets, and Erio carried Strada on his shoulder while Schach strapped Windenschaft to her belt.

"About time," said Schach. "We've been waiting for half an hour already."

"You all right, Nanoha-San, Fate-San?" Erio asked.

"I wouldn't be too friendly to them, you two," said Punisher coldly, "they are here to be punished, after all."

"That's why you're late, isn't it?" said Schach, frowning at Punisher. "You've been lecturing them, eh? It's not your place to do that. You've done your part, we'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Punisher, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and turned and started back toward the church.

Yuri now turned to Schach.

"I'm not going in that forest," she said, and Nanoha was pleased to hear a note of panic in her voice.

"You are if you want to stay at St. Hilde," said Erio smoothly. "You broke the rules and now you have to pay for it."

"But this is servant stuff; it's not for students to do. I thought we would be writing sentences or something, if my mother knew I was doing this, she would – "

" – tell you that is how it is at St. Hilde," Schach growled. "Writing sentences! What good is that to anyone? You'll be doing something useful or you'll get out. If you think you mother would rather you were expelled, then get back to the church and start packing. Go on!"

Yuri didn't move. She looked at Schach furiously, but then dropped her gaze.

"Right then," said Schach, "now listen carefully, cause it's dangerous what we're going to do tonight and I don't want anyone taking unnecessary risks. Follow me over here for a moment."

She led them to the edge of the forest. Erio summoned a ball of yellow light and passed it off to Schach, who held it high to illuminate the narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest. And there, at the root of the nearest tree, was a small puddle of what Nanoha believed to be purple slime. Erio kneeled down to it under Schach's light, dipped his fingers in the puddle, and gave it a quick sniff.

"Manticore blood," said Erio, wiping his fingers on the trunk. "Judging by the look of things there must have been a struggle. Whatever the outcome, the manticore was hurt badly by something. This is the second time in a week a dangerously magical creature has been attacked. We found a dead Basilisk last Wednesday – its blood was completely drained. It's our job to find the manticore and possibly put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the manticore finds us first?" said Yuri, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.

"There's nothing that lives in the forest that will hurt you if you're with me or Erio," said Schach. "And keep to the path. Right, now, we're gonna split into two parties and follow the trail in different directions. There's blood all over the place, it must have been staggering around since last night at least."

"I want Erio," said Yuri quickly, looking at Strada, which was much more intimidating than Winderschaft.

"When did this become my punishment?" whined Erio.

"Just suck it up, Erio," said Schach. "So me, Nanoha, and Fate will go one way and Yuri, Teana, and Erio will go the other. Now, if any of us finds the manticore, we'll send up a one of these green flares. Here – take one – make sure you have it secured. And if anyone gets into trouble, send up one of these red flares, and we'll come and find you – so, be careful – let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Nanoha, Fate, and Schach took the left path while Yuri, Teana, and Erio took the right. They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of royal-purple blood on the fallen leaves. Nanoha saw hat Schach looked very worried.

"_Could _a Hollow be killing the manticore?" Nanoha asked.

"Not possible," said Schach. "Manticores are one of the rarest breed of chimera there is an also the most deadly. They are usually the one preying on other creatures, not the other way around. It's unheard of for a manticore to be so injured."

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Nanoha could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of manticore blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Nanoha?" Schach whispered. "Don't worry, it can't have gone fat if it's this badly hurt, and then we'll be able to – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Schach seized Nanoha and Fate and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. She whipped Winderschaft from and belt and started swinging for momentum, gathering what little magical energy she had. The three of them listened. They could hear the creaking of branches one after another, but there was no wind; it sounded like someone was climbing through the trees. Schach was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded in the distance.

"I knew it," she murmured. "There's something in here that shouldn't be."

"A Hollow?" Nanoha suggested.

"That was no Hollow and it definitely wasn't a manticore, either," said Schach grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."

They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in the clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Schach called. "Show yourself – I'm armed!"

And into the clearing came – was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with brown hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, brown tail. Nanoha's jaw dropped, but Fate acted like everything was normal.

"Oh, it's you, Chiron," said Schach in relief. "How are ya?"

She walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Schach," said Chiron. He had a deep, sagely voice. "Were you planning to cut me down, by any chance?"

"Can't be too careful, Chiron," said Schach, snapping Windernschaft to her belt. "There's something bad loose in this forest. This is Nanoha Takamachi and Fate Testarossa, by the way. Students up at the church. And this is Chiron, you two."

"Chiron, as in the teacher of Achilles?" asked Fate interestingly.

"No, no, my ancestor is long dead," said Chiron. "So you two are students, are you? Do you learn much, up at the church?"

"Erm – "

"A bit," said Fate cautiously.

"A bit. Well, that's something." Chiron sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Xeno is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Schach, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm gave we've run into you, Chiron, cause there's a manticore that's been hurt – you seen anything?"

Chiron didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.

"The strong will always fall to another," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," said Schach, "but have you seen anything, Chiron? Anything unusual?"

"Xeno is bright tonight," Chiron repeated, while Schach watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."

"Yeah, but I was talking about anything unusual a bit closer to home," said Schach. "So you haven't noticed anything strange?"

Yet again, Chiron took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Chiron made Schach unlatched Windenschaft from her belt again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and bodied and wilder-looking than Chiron with a crossbow in his hand and a sword strapped at his waist.

"Hello, Orion," said Schach. "All right?"

"Good evening, Schach, I hope you are well?"

"Well enough. Look, I've just been asking Chiron, you seen anything odd in here lately? There's a manticore that's been injured – would you know anything about it?"

Orion walked over to stand next to Chiron. He looked skyward.

"Xeno is bright tonight," he said simply.

"We've heard," said Schach grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anything, let me know, won't you? We'll be off, then."

Nanoha and Fate followed her out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Chiron and Orion until the trees blocked their view.

"Never," said Schach irritably, "try and get a straight answer out of a centaur. Lousy stargazers. I remember a time when they were warriors, but now they're not interested in anything closer than the moons."

"How many centaurs live in the forest?" asked Fate.

"A fair number of them…keep to themselves most of the time, but they're good enough about turning up if I ever want to have a conversation. Most of the centaurs are deep…they know things…just don't let on much."

"Do you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Nanoha.

"Have you ever heard of a centaur that can climb trees? Nah, if you ask me, that was what's been killing the beasts in the forest – probably something humanoid or close."

They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Nanoha kept looking nervously over her shoulder. She had a nasty feeling they were being watched. She was very glad they had Schach and Winderschaft with them. they had just passed a bend in the path when a loud gunshot echoed through the forest, scattering the birds in the branches.

"Schach! That sounded like Cross Mirage!" exclaimed Fate. "That's Teana's Device! She might be in trouble!"

"You two wait here!" Schach shouted. "Stay on the path; I'll come back for you!"

They heard her crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Nanoha.

"I don't care if Yuri has, but if something's got Teana…it's our fault she's here in the first place."

The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Nanoha's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others? At last, a great crunching noise announced Schach's return. Yuri, Teana, and Erio were with her. Schach was fuming. Yuri, it seemed, had sneaked up on Teana and grabbed her as a joke. Teana tried to defend herself and nearly shot Yuri between the eyes.

"We'll be lucky to catch anything now, with the racket you two were making. Right, we're changing groups – Teana, you stay with me and Fate, Nanoha, you go with Erio and this idiot. I'm sorry," Schach added in a whisper to Nanoha, "but she'll have a harder time frightening you, and we've gotta get this done."

So Nanoha set off into the heart of the forest with Yuri and Erio. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Nanoha thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the beast had been thrashing around in pain close by. Nanoha could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look – " Erio murmured, holding out his arm to stop Nanoha and Yuri.

Something large was curled on the ground. They inched closer. It was the manticore all right, and it was dead. Nanoha had never seen anything more terrifying in her life. Its bulking lion legs were stretched out at odd angles where it had fallen, its scorpion tail was almost entirely ripped apart, and its human face was trapped in a perpetual state of fright.

Erio gripped Strada tightly at the shaft and took one step toward the manticore when a creaking sound made him freeze where he stood. One of the branches of the large oak quivered…then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling down the trunk like some stalking beast. Nanoha, Yuri, and Erio stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the manticore, lowered its head over the wound in the beast's side, and began to drink its blood.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Yuri let out a terrible scream and bolted. The hooded figure raised its head, looked past Erio, and stared right at Nanoha – manticore blood was dripping down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Nanoha – she couldn't move for fear.

"Strada!" Erio called. "**Speerangriff!**"

The hidden thrusters beneath Strada's head ignited and launched Erio into a high-charged strike against the hooded figure. But the shadowy hunter had easily managed to sidestep the attack even with Erio moving at sixty miles per hour. It raised a sickly-green hand from the depths of its cloak and snatched the back of his head, smashing Erio into the ground, connecting his forehead with an exposed rock. Erio went limp, blood slipping down his face.

The hooded figure turned its attention back on Nanoha, who had fallen on the ground and was shaking like a leaf. The shadowy assailant stared at her, almost as if it was deciding what to do next. In a flash, the figure's hand was replaced by a slimy-green tentacle, snapped it across the clearing, wrapping around Nanoha's chest, and raised her off the ground. Then a pain like she had never felt before pierced her heart; it was as though her scar was on fire. The pain in her chest was so great it felt as if the hooded figure was ripping her heart out. Nanoha's vision started to fail her…

"Declare, Gamuza!"

There was a swish, a thud, and shriek, and Nanoha thumped to the ground hard on her back – the pain in her chest had disappeared. Her sight coming back to her, Nanoha sat up and gazed in awe of the centaur that had come to her defense.

It was a woman this time, her lower half layered in whitish-brown fur and a long black tail, and her upper half had waving greenish-blue hair, a scar between her eyes, and a crimson line that ran across her face. She wore an ibex skull on her head and a short, green shirt with white and black armor covering her arms. Nanoha noticed on the nearby trunk was the hooded figure's severed tentacle stabbed by a white, double-ended lance.

The hooded figure hissed like a cobra ready to attack, but the centaur woman did look threatened, she actually looked kind of bored. The shadowy assailant drew out its other sickly-green hand and shifted it into a set of three footlong claws. It jumped from side to side at a fast pace, possibly trying to confuse the centaur as it moved closer. But the woman blinked in a bored manner and inhaled deeply before exhaling with a sharp gasp. Nanoha's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets were the centaur breathed a violet burst of destructive energy, catching the hooded figure off-guard. The energy stream blasted away the manticore and a good portion of the trees surrounding them.

When the smoke had cleared, the hooded figure on the opposite end of the clearing – the top right portion of its body burned away. The cloaked beast hissed one last time and jumped into the trees, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. Nanoha was so awestruck that she hadn't noticed the centaur picked up Erio and settling him on her back.

"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Nanoha to her feet.

"Yes – thank you – what _was _that?"

The centaur didn't answer. She had wide tan, almost like a child's. She looked carefully at Nanoha, her eyes lingering on the scar that was visible at Nanoha's neckline.

"You are Nanoha Takamachi," she said. "You had better get back to Schach. The forest is not safe at this time – especially for you. Can you ride with your friend? It will be quicker this way. My name, by the way, is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck," she added, as she lowered herself on to her front legs so that Nanoha could clamber onto her back.

"Thank you, Nella…Nelly…Neela…"

"My friends call me Nel," said Nel, chuckling at her confusion.

There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Chiron and Orion came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving a sweaty.

"Nelliel!" Orion thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! it's not enough that you have to mock us with your false appearance, but now you insult our race by becoming a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is?" said Nel. "This is Nanoha Takamachi. The quicker she leaves the forest, the better."

"What have you been telling her?" growled Orion. "Remember, Nelliel, we centaur are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movement of the planets?"

Chiron pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Nelliel thought she was acting for the best," he said.

Orion kicked his back leg in anger.

"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray human in our forest!"

Nel grabbed her double-sided lance from the tree where the hooded figure's tentacle had wilted and ripped it sharply from the trunk, snapping the oak in two.

"Did you not see what had become of the basilisk and the manticore?" Nel bellowed at Orion. "do you not understand why they were killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? The matters of centaurs are none of my concern. I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Orion, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."

And Nel whisked around; with Nanoha clutching on as best as she could while holding Erio, they plunged into the trees, leaving Chiron and Orion behind them. Nanoha didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Why is Orion so angry?" she asked. "what was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Nel slowed to a walk, warned Nanoha to keep her head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Nanoha's question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Nanoha had thought Nel didn't want to talk to her anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Nel suddenly stopped.

"Nanoha Takamachi, do you know why the manticore and basilisk were drained of their blood?"

"No," said Nanoha, startled by the odd question. "From what I heard, manticore and basilisks are extremely dangerous."

"That is because they are powerfully magical creatures with large Linker Cores," said Nel. "Because beasts like manticores have such large quantities of magic stored in their Linker Cores, they are too risky for a single mage to approach. But by draining their Linker Cores through their blood, one can gain a massive increase in power and can even keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death. But by stealing a creature's Linker Core through death, even a beast as terrible as a manticore, you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

Nanoha stared at the back of Nel's skull, which reflected the shine from the moonlight.

"But who would be that desperate?" she wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, wouldn't death be a better choice?"

"It is," Nel agreed, "unless all you needed is to stay alive long enough to drink something else – something that will bring you back to full strength and power – something that will mean you can never die. Nanoha, do you know what is hidden in the church at this very moment?"

"The Blood of Panacea! Of course – the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand d who – "

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"

It was as though and iron fist had clenched suddenly around Nanoha's heart once again. Over the rustling of the trees, she seemed to hear once more what Schach had told her on the night they had met: "Some say she died. Bantha fodder, if you want my opinion. I don't think she had enough humanity left in her to die."

"Do you mean," Nanoha croaked, "that was _Ste _– "

"Nanoha! Nanoha, are you all right?"

Fate was running toward them down the path, Bardiche in Haken Form, Schach puffing along behind her.

"I'm fine," said Nanoha, hardly knowing what she was saying. "The manticore's dead, Schach, you can find what's left of it in that clearing back there."

This is where I leave you," Nel murmured as Schach hurried off to examine the manticore carcass. "You are safe now."

Nanoha slid off her back, asking Fate's help in carrying Erio.

Good luck, Nanoha Takamachi," said Nel. "The planets have been read wrong before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

She turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Nanoha shivering behind her.

* * *

Hayate had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. She shouted something about cabbages when Nanoha roughly shoot her awake. In a matter of seconds, though, she was wide-eyed as Nanoha began to tell her and Fate what had happened in the forest. Nanoha couldn't sit down. She paced up and down in front of the fire. She was still shaking.

"Presea and Jellal want the Panacea for Stern…and Stern is waiting in the forest…and all this time we thought Presea and Jellal just wanted it for themselves…"

"Stop saying that name!" said Hayate in a terrified whisper, as if she thought Stern could hear them.

Nanoha wasn't listening.

"Nel saved me, but she shouldn't have done so…Orion was furious…he was talking about interfering with what the planets saying is going to happen…they must show Stern's coming back…Orion thinks Nel should have let Stern kill me…I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"_Will you stop saying that name!_" Hayate hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Presea and Jellal to steal the Panacea," Nanoha went on feverishly, "then Stern will be able to come and finish me off…well, I suppose Orion will be happy."

Fate looked very worried, but she had a word of comfort.

"Nanoha, everyone says Carim-Sama is the only one the Dark Queen was ever afraid of. With Carim-Sama around, the Dark Queen won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and mother always says that is a very imprecise branch of magic."

The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over. When Nanoha pulled back her sheets, she found the three Black Coats she had left on the astronomy tower folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to one of them:

_**Just in case.**_

* * *

**And that ends the third-to-last chapter of the book. Next chapter is when the real excitement begins: the trials of magic set down by the teachers of St. Hilde. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate will finally display their skills and will be one step closer to revealing the true identity of the villain. Unfortunately, a great tragedy awaits the heroes ahead. Tune in next chapter to see what will become of them.**


	16. Equivalant Exchange

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Equivalent Exchange**

In the years to come, Nanoha would never quite remember how she had managed to get through her exams when she half expected Stern to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fifi was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was freezing cold, especially in the large, drafty classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new writing tools for the exams, which had been designed to discourage any cheating by giving them a mild shock. By the time they had turned in their papers, Axel Lea's hair was spikier than before.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Stein called them one by one into his class to see if they knock down the wooden targets with whatever random spell he chose for them. Linith-Sensei watched them turn a block of wood into an electric radio – points were given if the radio worked, but taken away if it sprouted leaves. Presea made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember the formula for an amnesia solution.

Nanoha did the best she could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in her chest, which had been bothering her ever since her trip into the forest. Teana thought Nanoha had a bad case of exam nerves because Nanoha couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Nanoha kept being woken by her old nightmares, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Nanoha had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their chests, but Fate and Hayate didn't seem as worried about the Panacea as Nanoha. The idea of Stern certainly scared them out of their skin, but she didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Presea and Jellal might be up to.

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about loopy old mages who had invented the automatic cheese wheel and they would be free, free for a whole wonderful week until exam results came out. When Sasakibe-Sensei told them to put down their pens and pass their papers forward, Nanoha couldn't help cheering with the rest of the class.

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," said Fate as they joined the the crowd flocking out onot the snowy-white grounds. "I really didn't need to learn about the 237 Law of Equivalent Exchange or the uprising of WRS and her Apostles."

Fate always liked to go through their exam papers afterwards, but Hayate said this made her feel sick, so they wandered down to the frozen lake, brushed away some of the snow, and flopped onto the grass. The Yagami twins and Anko Mitarashi were playing a game of extreme ice ball on the thin surface of the lake.

"No more studying," Hayate sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could at least pretend to be happy, Nanoha, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've failed, there's no reason to worry yet."

Nanoha was rubbing her neckline painfully.

"I wish I knew what this _means_!" she burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting – it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Doctor Chopper," Fate suggested.

"I'm not sick," said Nanoha. "I think it's a warning…it means danger is coming…"

"Nanoha, relax," said Hayate. "Fate's right, the Panacea is safe as long as Carim-Sama is around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Presea and Jellal found out how to get past Fifi. Presea nearly had her leg ripped off once; she's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Subaru will play Riot Force for Mid-Childa before Schach lets Carim-Sama down.

Back in the castle, Subaru suddenly felt depressed.

Nanoha nodded, but she couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something she had forgotten to do, something important. When she tried to explain this, Fate said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Alchemy notes before I remembered we had done that one."

Nanoha was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. She watched a Fay flutter toward the church across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its arms. Schach was the only one who ever sent her letters. Schach would never betray Carim. Schach would never tell anyone how to get past Fifi…never…but – Nanoha suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Where are you going?" said Hayate tiredly.

"I've just thought of something," said Nanoha. She had turned white. "We've got to go and see Schach, now."

"Why?" panted Fate, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a little strange," said Nanoha, scrambling up the snowy slope, "that Schach loves helping Caro raise dragons more than anything else, and a stranger turns up and just happens to have an Amethyst Drake egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with untamable dragon eggs if they are illegal? Lucky they found Schach, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Hayate, but Nanoha, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.

Schach was sitting in an armchair outside her shack, bundled in heavy fur coat and boots, and shelling peas into a large bowl while watching Erio and Caro have a snowball fight with Fried, and losing badly.

"Hello," she said, smiling. "Finished your exams? Got time for a cup of hot cocoa?"

"With marshmallows?" asked Hayate brightly, but Nanoha cut her off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Schach, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Spyro? What did the stranger you playing cards with look like?"

"Pretty normal guy," said Schach casually. "Blond hair, a little on the short side, I would have guessed he was of Xerxes descent based on his gold eyes. Didn't really get a name, though." She saw the three of them looked stunned and raised her eyebrows. "It's not that unusual, you meet a lot of strange people down in the Belkan District. Might have been a dragon dealer for all we know."

"What did you talk to him about, Schach?" asked Nanoha. "Did you mention St. Hilde?"

"Might've come up," said Schach, frowning as she tried to remember. "Yeah…he asked what I did, and I told him I was a gamekeeper here…he asked a little about the sort of creatures I look after…so I told him…and I said I loved helping raise the church dragons…and then…I can't remember too well, 'cause he kept buying me drinks…let's see…yeah, then he said he had the Amethyst Drake egg and we could play cards for it if I wanted…but he had to be sure I could handle it, he didn't want it to go to any old home…so I told him, after Fifi, an Amethyst Drake would be easy…"

"And did he – did he seem interested in Fifi? Nanoha asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Well – yeah – how many Cerberus's do you meet, even around St. Hilde? So I told him, Fifi's a piece of cake if you know how to calm her down, just play her a bit of music and she'll go straight to sleep – " Schach suddenly looked horrified. "I shouldn't have told you that. Forget I said it! Hey – where're you going?"

Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall.

"We've got to go to Carim-Sama," said Nanoha. "Schach told that stranger how to get past Fifi, and I'm willing to bet it was Jellal in disguise – it must have been easy, once he had gotten Schach drunk. I just hope Carim-Sama will believe us. Nel might back us up if Orion doesn't stop her. Where's Carim-Sama's office?"

They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Carim lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see her.

"We'll just have to – " Nanoha began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you three doing over there?"

It was Linith-Sensei, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Carim-Sama," said Fate, rather bravely, Nanoha and Hayate thought.

"See Carim-Sama?" Linith-Sensei repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to do. "Why?"

"It's…sort of a secret," said Nanoha, but she wished at once she hadn't, because Linith-Sensei's nostrils flared.

"Carim-Sama left ten minutes ago," she said steely. "She received an urgent letter from the Time-Space Administration Bureau and took off for Cranagan at once."

"She's _gone_?" said Nanoha frantically. "_Now?_"

"Carim-Sama is a very important woman, Takamachi, she has many demands on her time – "

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important that the TSAB, Takamachi?"

Look," said Nanoha, throwing caution to the winds, "Sensei – it's about the Blood of Panacea – "

Whatever Linith-Sensei had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know – ?" she sputtered

"Sensei, I think – I _know_ – that Pr – that someone is going to try and steal the Panacea. We've got to talk to Carim-Sama."

She eyed her with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Carim-Sama will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Panacea, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Sensei – "

"Takamachi, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go to your common rooms and enjoy a warm beverage."

But they didn't.

"It's tonight," said Nanoha, once she was sure Linith-Sensei was out of earshot. "Presea and Jellal are going through the trapdoor tonight. They've found out everything they need, and now they got Carim-Sama out of the way they sent that letter, I bet the TSAB will be in for a big surprise when Carim-Sama turns up."

"But what can we – "

Fate gasped and turned pale. Nanoha and Hayate didn't have to look to see who it was. Presea was standing right behind them.

"Good afternoon," she said smoothly, with an odd, twisted smile. "Now what would three Kaisers be doing wondering around in the middle of the entrance hall, I wonder."

"We were – " Nanoha began, without any idea what she was going to say.

"You'll want to be more careful," said Presea. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're…up to something. And Kaiser really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?" Nanoha flushed. They turned to go outside, but Presea called them back. "Be warned, Takamachi – anymore nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Fate already knows the severity of her punishment should she break the rules again. Good day to you."

She strode off in the direction of the teacher's lounge. Out on the stone steps, Nanoha turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," she whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye out for Jellal or Presea – wait outside the teacher's lounge and follow them if they leave it. Fate-Chan, you'd better do that?"

"Why me?" she squeaked frightfully.

"It's obvious," teased Hayate. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Stein, you know." She put on a high voice that sounded nothing like Fate. "Oh, Professor Stein, I'm worried, I think I got question seventy-nine wrong…"

"You're not very good at impressions," said Fate, but she agreed to go and watch out for Jellal – she wasn't going anywhere near her mother.

"And we better stay outside the sixth-floor hallway," Nanoha told Hayate. "Come on."

But that part of the plan didn't work out as well as they had hoped. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fifi from the rest of the school than Linith-Sensei turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of A-Ranked spells!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you have come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Kaiser! Yes, Yagami, from my own house!"

Nanoha and Hayate went back to the common room. Nanoha had just said, "At least Fate-Chan is still on Jellal's trail," when the archway opened up and Fate came in.

"I'm so sorry, Nanoha!" she wailed. "Jellal came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Professor Stein, and Jellal went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Jellal went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Nanoha said. The other two stared at her. She was pale and her eyes were glittering. "I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Panacea first."

"Are you insane?" said Hayate.

"You can't!" said Fate. "After what Linith and mother have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Nanoha shouted. "Don't you understand? If Presea and Jellal get hold of the Panacea, Stern is coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when she was trying to take over? There won't be any St. Hilde to get expelled from! She'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for Black Magic! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? Do you think she'll leave you and your families alone if Kaiser wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Panacea, well, I'll have to go back to the Henkens and wait for Stern to find me there, it's only dying a little later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Stern killed my family, remember?"

She glared at them.

"You're right, Nanoha," said Fate in a small voice.

"I'll use the Black Coat," said Nanoha. "I'm just lucky I got all of them back from the Spyro fiasco."

"Then there should be enough for each of us," said Hayate.

"Each – each of us?"

"You didn't think we were going to let you go alone, did you?"

"Of course not," said Fate briskly. "How do you think you would get to the Panacea without us? I'm sorry, but you're not exactly the top of the class or know all the oldest tricks in the book. I'd better go and look through my spell archives, there might be something useful…"

"But if we get caught, you two will get expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Fate smugly. "Professor Stein told me in secret that I got a hundred and fifty percent on the exam – the highest first year grade in St. Hilde history. After something like that, they would have to be crazy to throw me out."

* * *

After dinner, the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Kaisers had anything to say to Nanoha or Fate any more, after all. This was the first night they weren't upset by it. Fate was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the spells they were about to try to break. Nanoha and Hayate didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do. Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the coats," Hayate muttered, as Anko Mitarashi finally left, stretching and yawning.

Nanoha and Hayate ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. They pulled out their coats and grabbed one of the spares for Fate. Nanoha's eyes fell on the flute Schach had given her for Saint King's Day. She pocketed it to use on Fifi – she didn't feel much like singing. They ran back down to the common room.

"We better put the coats on here, and make sure everything is secure – if Punisher spots one of our feet wandering along on its own – "

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Subaru appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Gamakichi the toad, who looked as though he had been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Subaru, nothing," said Nanoha hurriedly, putting the coats behind her back.

Subaru stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," she said.

"No, no, no," said Fate. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Subaru?"

Nanoha looked at the digital clock on the wall. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Presea and Jellal might even now be playing Fifi to sleep.

"You can't go out," said Subaru, "You'll get caught again. Kaiser will be in even more trouble and Tea is still upset about what happened last time."

"You don't understand," said Nanoha, "this is important."

"I won't let you do it," said Subaru, hurrying to stand in front of the archway. She summoned her Device, which, when Nanoha thought about it, was the first time she had looked at it clearly. It looked like a deep-blue gauntlet with a pair of rotating gears at the wrist. "I'll fight you if I have to! I won't let you hurt Tea again!"

"_Subaru!_" Hayate exploded. "Get away from the archway and don't be an idiot – "

"Don't call me an idiot!" said Subaru. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not _us_," said Hayate in exasperation. "Subaru, you don't know what you're doing."

She took a step forward and Subaru thrust her Revolver Knuckle, stopping only an inch from knocking out Hayate's teeth. The blow never made contact, but the force behind it blew Hayate off her feet and slid a few feet back. Subaru was usually so clumsy that Nanoha had forgotten how inhumanely strong she was. If she were to go one-on-one with Subaru, there was a good chance she would wind up in the hospital wing with a few broken ribs. Nanoha turned to Fate.

"_Do something_," she said desperately.

"Subaru," Fate sighed. "I'm really, really sorry about this."

Calling Bardiche to her hand, Fate leapt forward with her Device pulled back poised to strike. Subaru narrowed her eyes and jabbed Revolver Knuckle at her face, but Fate miraculously vanished out of sight only second before the hit could connect. Nanoha, Hayate, and Subaru blinked. They looked around the common room, but couldn't find her. Suddenly, Subaru fell unconscious on the floor as Fate appeared behind her, smacking the blunt head of Bardiche against the back of her head. Nanoha and Hayate stared with wide eyes.

"How did you do that?" Nanoha whispered.

"It's a simple Blitz Rush," said Fate. "It enhances my adrenaline with magic to make me move faster."

"Well, I hope Subaru understand why we did it," said Hayate as they stepped over her and pulled on their Black Coats.

But leaving Subaru lying unconscious on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Punisher, every distant breath of wind sounded like Loki swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Max skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick him, just this once," Hayate whispered in Nanoha's ear, but Nanoha told her there wasn't time for that.

As they climbed carefully around him, Max turned his cold, unforgiving eyes on them, but didn't do anything. They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the sixth floor. Loki was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you a ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them. "Should call Franky, I should, if something is a-creeping around unseen."

It looked like they were caught until Hayate decided to make a risky play.

"Loki," she said, in a frigid whisper, "as commander of the Onmitsukido, I have my own reasons for being unseen."

Loki fell out of the air in shock and quickly dropped to his knees, his forehead smacking the ground as he repeatedly bowed to the invisible captain.

"So sorry, captain, Ms. Suì-Fēng, ma'am," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake – I didn't see you – of course I didn't, you're invisible – forgive little Loki for his little joke, ma'am."

"I have business here, Loki," said Hayate. "Stay away from this place tonight.

"I will, ma'am, I most certainly will," said Loki, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, captain, I will not bother you."

"That was brilliant, Hayate," whispered Nanoha when Loki disappeared around the corner.

A few second later, they were there, outside the sixth-floor hallway – and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Nanoha said quietly, "Presea and Jellal are already past Fifi."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what they were facing. Pulling off her hood with the other two doing the same, Nanoha turned to her friends.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," she said. "You can take the Black Coats, I won't need them now."

"Don't be stupid," said Hayate.

"We're in this all the way," said Fate.

Nanoha pulled her hood back on and pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the Cerberus's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them hidden in the shadows.

"What's that at its feet?" Fate whispered.

"It looks like a harp," said Hayate. "Presea must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Nanoha. "Well, here goes nothing…"

She put Schach's flute to her lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Nanoha hardly drew breath. Slowly, the Cerberus's growls ceased – it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Hayate warned Nanoha as they stepped into the moonlight and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the Cerberus's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Hayate, peering over the Cerberus's back. "Want to go first, Fate?"

Fate gave a blank stare. When Hayate clapped her hands together in a pleading prayer, she sighed and stepped carefully over the Cerberus's legs. She bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hayate said anxiously.

"Nothing – just black – there's no way to climbing down, we'll have to drop," said Fate. Nanoha, who was still playing the flute, waved at Fate to get her attention and pointed to herself. "You want to go first? Are you sure? I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give me the flute so I can keep Fifi asleep."

Nanoha handed the flute over. In the few seconds of silence, the Cerberus growled and twitched, but the moment Fate began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep. Nanoha jealously noted that Fate played much better than her – is there anything she can't do? Shaking her head, Nanoha climbed over the Cerberus and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.

She lowered herself through the hole until she was hanging on by her fingertips. Then she looked up at Hayate and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the Fay tower and send Lucy to Carim-Sama, right?"

"Right," said Hayate.

"See you in a minute, I hope…"

And Nanoha let go. Cold damp air rushed past her as she fell down, down, down, and – FLUMP! With a funny, muffled sort of thump she landed on something soft yet firm. She sat up and felt around, her eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though whatever she was sitting on was made of wood.

"It's okay!" she called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Hayate followed right away. She landed, sprawled next to Nanoha. "What is this stuff?" were her first words.

"Dunno, some kind of tree of something. I guess it's here to break the fall. Come on, Fate-Chan!"

The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the Cerberus, but Fate had already jumped. She landed on Nanoha's other side.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this tree thing was here to save us," said Hayate.

"_Lucky!_" shrieked Fate. "Look at your feet!"

She swiftly flipped backwards and pressed herself against the damp wall with Bardiche in staff form. Nanoha and Hayate looked confused until they looked down and saw the wooded support starting to twist snakelike branches around their ankles. Both of them grunted and struggled to break out, but their legs were already bound tight in long creepers in a matter of seconds. Nanoha and Hayate were quick to summon their Devices, only for the wooden creature to snatch their arms and bind them to their sides. Fate was in horror as the two fought harder against the wood monster, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Fate ordered them. "That's Hashirama-Sensei's Mokuton technique. It has the power to control the wood element."

"Oh, I am so glad to know that, it's a great help to us," snarled Hayate, leaning back, trying to stop the wood from curling around her neck.

"Fate-Chan…help us…" Nanoha gasped, wrestling with the wood creature as it curled around her chest.

"Uh…right! Bardiche!" Fate called desperately.

"**Haken Form!**" said Bardiche. The starch halberd snapped its blunt head up and produced its energy scythe. "**Sonic Form!**"

In a burst of golden light, Fate's cape attire shifted to its more athletic form. Grinding her feet against the floor, Fate bound across the chamber, slashing a good number of the wooden tendrils as she passed by. The wooden monster rumbled, shaking Nanoha and Hayate, and created at least twenty more wooden vines shot in Fate's direction, all tipped with a pointed edge for piercing. Fate landed on the wall opposite and kicked off, allowing the wooden ropes to strike the wall much like the chimera did on Hollow's Eve.

Fate curved around and slashed the wood tentacles beneath her, showering the whole chamber in splinters. She landed precariously on one of the thicker branches, made a charge to the heart of the roots, slashed every wooden structure that tried to attack her, and stabbed Bardiche on the thick stump in the center. The wooden tendrils creaked loudly and crumbled into sawdust, dropping Nanoha and Hayate on their butts.

"Are you two all right?" Fate asked worried, handing them both Raising Heart and Schwertkreuz.

"Yeah," said Hayate, emptying her hat of sawdust. "Though next time, I'll let you jump in first and then I can save your butt."

"This way," said Nanoha, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Nanoha was reminded of Reichtum. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, she remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the magic bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon – Spyro had been bad enough…

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. it was full of Riot Force Gadgets all painted a different color – red, blue, yellow, green – floating all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a very heavy steel door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Hayate.

"Probably," said Nanoha. "They don't look very threatening from here, but who knows what kind of magic they have been operated with…well, there's no other choice…I'll run."

She took a deep breath, covered her head with her arms, and sprinted across the room. She expected to feel the blunt force of the Gadgets followed by a sudden surge of magical energy any second, but it never happened. She reached the door untouched. She tried pressing herself against the door, but it was locked. The other two followed her. They both heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hayate tried her unlocking spell.

"Now what?" said Hayate.

"This door has an electronic lock," said Fate. "Then there must be a mechanism to open it."

They peered through the swarm of multi-colored Gadgets, looking for perhaps a key or a lever.

"There!" Nanoha said suddenly, pointing to a small button on the ceiling that no normal person would have seen. "That must be the key to opening the door. All we have to do is fly up there through the Gadgets to reach it."

"I'll get it," said Hayate, summoning her Tomb of the Night Sky. "**Sleipnir!**"

"Hayate, wait a second!"

But she didn't listen. The moment the eight black feathered wings sprouted from her back, she took off for the ceiling, ignoring the words of warning from Nanoha and Fate. This seemed almost too easy to be true, Hayate thought. And she was right. Not even ten feet off the ground, the Gadgets flickered their attention on Hayate and made a simultaneous assault. Hayate scrambled around the air, successfully able to dodge two blue Gadgets and one red, but her luck ran out when a yellow Gadget clipped one of her wings, sending a surge of electricity through her body. This allowed two red Gadgets to connect with her shoulders, exploding on contact, and one blue Gadget hitting her in the back, encasing her wings in a layer of ice.

Her Sleipnir spell shattered and Hayate fell to the ground with a dull thud, grateful that she wasn't too high where the fall might have killed her. Nanoha and Fate quickly helped her up.

"Owie," Hayate whined childishly. "That hurt…"

"That's why you should have listen to us in the first place," said Fate, scolding her. "There must be a hundred Gadgets up there. How did mother and Jellal-Sensei managed to get past all of them without sustaining critical injury."

"Say…Fate-Chan…" said Nanoha thoughtfully. "Do you think you could fly up there and give it a shot? I thought I noticed something strange about those Gadgets and I wanted to see…"

"Nanoha…?" said Fate slowly.

The girl in white seemed unusually focused on the Gadgets, a look that Fate and Hayate had only seen when Riot Force was involved. Fate asked Bardiche to activate the Solar Sails on her wrists and ankles, gently touched off the ground, and slowly glided upwards as to not startle the Gadget swarm. As she had suspected, the Gadgets picked up on her magic ten feet after she had left the ground and attacked in large groups. Fate, being the more combat experienced of the group, used Haken Form combined with Sonic Mode to dodge and deflect incoming Gadgets, but she found herself in a difficult position where she was unable to move forward.

In the end, Fate was forced back by the Gadgets and touched back down on the ground, cancelling her spell to make herself invisible to the Gadgets, which went back to standby.

"Good try, Fate," said Hayate.

"Well, Nanoha, did you see something?" Fate asked.

"Yeah…there was something weird about it…" Nanoha murmured, pointing to one of the Gadgets. "The yellow, red, and blue ones are always the first to attack, but – " She pointed to one of the nearby green Gadgets. "The green ones never moved once. I wonder if…Raising Heart!"

"**Understood, Master.**" Said Raising Heart. "**Axel Fin!**"

With the glowing wings at her feet, Nanoha immediately took off toward the closest green Gadget, ignoring the other drones that had suddenly shifted their attention to her. Even without looking back, Nanoha could feel the array of red, blue, and yellow machine close on her tail, and put in a desperate burst of speed to distance herself, though not by much. A red Gadget was close to nipping her heel when Nanoha stretched her hand out and tapped the green device with her fingers. Suddenly, the other Gadgets were thrown aside as a barrier of mint-green energy surrounded her.

"I knew it!" Nanoha cheered. "The green Gadgets are shield spells! We're supposed use them to make a path through the Gadgets and reach the button on top. This must be Jellal's test because you need a lot of strategy to figure this out."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said Hayate. "Hurry up and finish it!"

Now that she knew the secret, flying through the Gadget field seemed like a piece of cake. Nanoha's sharp eyes easily spotted the next green Gadget in the chamber of floating drones, and always managed to reach them before the other Gadgets realized what happened. One by one, Nanoha activated the shield machines until she finally reached the button on the ceiling, unlocking the door with a loud click and deactivating the Gadgets to let her return to the ground smoothly.

"That was amazing, Nanoha," said Fate, looking deeply impressed. "I never would have noticed that unless you had pointed it out. I bet you would make a great Tactical Combat Instructor."

"Aw, shucks," said Nanoha, blushing.

"If you two are done making kissy faces," said Hayate, embarrassing her friends. "We need to move. Who knows how much time we wasted already."

Hayate was right – Presea and Jellal might have already made it to the Panacea by now. The three of them rushed to the heavy door and pulled on the edge together, just barely able to pry it open. When they walked through, they found the next chamber to be so dark they couldn't see anything. But as they walked further inside, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing and horrifying sight.

The edges of the room were littered with bones and half-eaten corpses, the walls and floor stained red with blood, chains rattling in an ominous orchestra above them, and a large outline was written in white chalk on the floor, which was remarkably free of blood and dirt. It was an elaborate circle that filled up most of the room with various designs and symbols written inside – it didn't look anything like the magic circles that they had learned in class. Fate hummed to herself, kneeling next to the circle, but Nanoha and Hayate were distracted by one thing about this room: there was no door.

"Now what do we do?" Nanoha whispered.

"It's a transmutation circle," said Fate, brushing her fingers against the edge of the circle. "This must be Linith-Sensei's test. Hmm…looks like the formula is a basic trigger calculation. If someone steps inside it, the circle will activate and it should open the door to the next room, but if we do that, then the person inside will be trapped for who knows how long. But…how if that's true, then how come mother or Jellal aren't still here?"

"Maybe they know some spell to break it," said Nanoha. "So if one of us has to stay behind, how are we going to decide who to pick?"

"I'll stay."

"Hayate?"

"I'm obviously the best choice," Hayate said, tapping Fate out of the way with Schwertkreuz. "The last two challenges are Professor Stein and Presea, so you're going to need Fate's brain to pull you on ahead. And Nanoha…if…if the Queen of Darkness is really coming back…it would make sense if you were the one to stop her. You did it before, so you can do it again, right?"

"Hayate…"

"Go, I'll be fine," said Hayate. "Make sure to give Presea one for me, ok?"

Nanoha wished she could say something to argue with Hayate's case, but she made a valid point: if only two of them were to move forward, it should be her and Fate. Hayate stared at the transmutation circle like she was walking into a lion's den – you never really know what could happen with alchemy. But she steeled herself and closed her eyes, taking three steps inside. The circle glowed with an ominous red tint, forming a dome of red energy, trapping Hayate inside, and shooting two bolts of red lightning across the floor. The electric bolts hit the wall opposite them and shifted the bricks around to form a set of gilded gates with a row of stairs leading down to the next room. Nanoha and Fate looked at each other then back to Hayate.

"Don't worry, Hayate-Chan," said Nanoha strongly. "We'll come back for you."

"So it's Hayate-Chan now, eh?" Hayate giggled teasingly. "Don't worry about me. Just make sure to get the Panacea."

"Come on, Nanoha, we don't have much time," said Fate, pulling her to the slowly closing gates.

"Good luck!" Hayate called as they barely slipped through the gates, which reverted back to a solid brick wall. "I'm sure it'll be fine if it's those two."

"You have a lot of faith in your friends."

Hayate gasped and swerved around on her heels with Schwertkreuz in one hand and the Tomb of the Night Sky in the other. She wasn't alone in the circle – a small girl of pure white was sitting on the edge across from Hayate, her body unclothed and her face blank. Perhaps it was because she was alone with a non-corporal strange in the middle of a room full of corpses, but Hayate never felt more frightened in her life than when she stared at the girl's nonexistent expression.

"It must be nice to have friends," said the ghostly stranger, her tone one of pure amusement. "You grew up in such a big family, have lots of caring siblings, yet you were never able to make a single friend, all because you were afraid of getting hurt and laughed at. You stuck close to your family, never letting anyone inside, never letting them see the true Hayate Yagami."

"Who are you," said Hayate, trying to keep her voice calm.

"That is a good question, isn't it?" the ghost laughed. "The real question is, who are you? You changed so much after Hollow's Eve – it seems almost impossible to believe that real Hayate Yagami has finally shown herself after just one night. Maybe it's not the real you. Maybe it's just another mask. Maybe the real Hayate is still inside, too scared to show herself. Or maybe…you're afraid of what you will become if you do."

"W – what do you want?" Hayate quivered, feeling a sudden wetness on her cheeks – she had been frightened to tears.

"The Law of Equivalent Exchange," said the ghost. "To gain something, you must lose something of equal value. You let your friends take a step forward, however – " A toothy, impossible wide grin stretched across the phantom's blank face. "That can only mean…that you can't walk with them. No…never again."

Hayate dropped Schwertkreuz and the Tomb of the Night Sky, too scared to face the unknown specter any longer and tried to make a run for it, but she had forgotten that she was still trapped in the barrier. Suddenly, Hayate felt her legs go numb, dropped to the ground, and smacked her forehead against the stone. Blood dripping down her face, Hayate looked back, her eyes wide in terror as the ghostly girl stood over her with her demonic grin, laughing.

Hayate was very, very afraid.

* * *

Halfway down the stairs, Nanoha and Fate suddenly stopped when they noticed something wasn't right. They felt a sudden heaviness in their hearts as if something terrible had happened. It didn't take long for them to know what it was.

"Hayate-Chan's Linker Core – " Nanoha whispered with a shudder. "I can't feel it anymore. Hayate-Chan's Linker Core…it's gone…it's gone…"

"Nanoha, calm down," said Fate.

"How can I calm down!" screamed Nanoha, tearing trailing down her cheeks uncontrollably. "Hayate-Chan's Linker Core is gone, Fate-Chan! You know what it means – She's gone! She's gone and it's our fault! We never should have left her alone! I should have been the one to – "

Without warning, Nanoha felt a stinging sensation across her face and she stumbled into the wall, her eyes wide with shock – Fate-Chan had slapped her. Nanoha slowly turned to her best friend. Fate looked like she was on the verge of crying, but she wouldn't – she needed to stay strong for the both of them.

"Nanoha, you need to stay calm," said Fate, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Hayate knew the consequences of coming down here and she accepted them anyway. She sacrified everything to make sure we made it safe. We can't let everything she worked for go to waste.

"Y – You're right, Fate-Chan," Nanoha sniffled, wiping away her tears on her Barrier Jacket. "Come on; let's go get the Panacea…for Hayate-Chan."

The two nodded and continued their way down the stairs. They reached another door and Fate volunteered to go in first. She pushed it open. A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making them both slap their hands over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, slapped in the middle of the room, a gigantic Frankenstein-like beast with its seven arms ripped off, three of its legs twisted at odd angles, and its ribcage ripped open. The corpse must have been fresh, explaining why it smelled worse than the last room.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that," Nanoha whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."

She pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next – but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Presea," said Nanoha. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Look!" Fate seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Nanoha looked over her shoulder to read it:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our numbers hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Fate let out a great sigh and Nanoha, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing she felt like doing.

"That is just like my mother," said Fate. "This isn't magic – it's logic – a puzzle. A lot of the greatest mages haven't got an ounce of logic, they would be stuck in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?"

"Have you forgotten that I am my mother's daughter?" said Fate. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles, three are poison; two are wine, one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Fate read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire – toward the Panacea."

Nanoha looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," she said. "That's hardly one swallow." They looked at each other. "Which one will get you back through the purple flames?" Fate pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line. "You drink that. No, listen, get back and find out what happened to Hayate-Chan. Once you found her, fly through the trapdoor and get past Fifi – go straight to the Fay tower and send Lucy to Carim-Sama, we need her. I might be able to hold Presea and Jellal off for a while, but I'm no match for them together."

"But Nanoha – what if the Dark Queen is with them?"

"Well – I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Nanoha, pointing at her scar. "I might get lucky again."

Fate's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Nanoha and threw her arms around her. She couldn't explain it, but Nanoha suddenly felt hot around the face.

"Nanoha – you're a great mage, you know that?"

I'm not as good as you," said Nanoha, very embarrassed, as she let go of her."

"Me!" said fate. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship and bravery and – oh Nanoha – please be _careful!_"

"You drink first," said Nanoha. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Fate. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered,

"It's not poison?" said Nanoha anxiously.

"No – but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck, Nanoha."

Fate turned and walked straight through the purple fire. Nanoha took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. She turned to face the black flames.

"Here I come," she said, and she drained the little bottle in one gulp.

It was indeed as though ice was flooding her body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; she braced herself, saw the black flames licking her body, but couldn't feel them – for a moment she could see nothing but dark fire – then she was on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there – but it wasn't Presea or Jellal. It wasn't even Stern.

"That's impossible," Nanoha gapped in horror. "You're – you're – "

* * *

**We have finally reached the end of the line and I am proud to say this may be my best chapter yet as well as my longest. Fate-Chan obviously owning the show and Nanoha showing the marks of great strategist, but poor Hayate is…well, only one more chapter left until the grand finale. The true name of the villain will finally be revealed and Nanoha has one last trick up her sleeve. Don't miss it!**


	17. The Man of Many Faces

**Nanoha and the Blood of Panacea**

**Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling  
Nanoha and other franchises © designated creators**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: The Man of Many Faces**

It was…Nanoha?

"That can't be right," said Nanoha stupefied. "You can't be me…can you?"

The fake Nanoha smiled – a smile that made the real Nanoha want to crawl under a rock.

"I could if I wanted to," said the fake Nanoha. "I wondered whether I would be meeting you here, Takamachi. You and you little friends always seem to have a knack for getting in my way."

"You – but then – I thought – Presea – "

"Presea?" the fake Nanoha laughed, cold and sharp that send goosebumps tingling down the original's spine. "Yes, Presea does seem the type, doesn't she? So useful to have her swooping around like an overgrown bat. And with my particular…talent, no one would seem suspicious of anyone but her. But she has been an annoying pain in my ass – her and Jellal."

"But I don't under – "

"**Environmental Analysis complete!**" said Raising Heart suddenly. "**Biological anomaly identified! Master, be careful, it's a Homunculus!**"

The fake Nanoha sneered – her face looked really ugly twisted that way. The real Nanoha jumped away from the imposter, having learned how dangerous a Homunculus was in Alchemy class. But she didn't get far before the fake Nanoha threw out her hand, reconstituting it into a sickly-green claw five times normal size, constricted her fingers around Nanoha's chest, and pinned her to the wall. Raising Heart clattered loudly on the floor. As Nanoha struggled against the imposter's grip, she realized that this creature must have been the one she encountered in the forest.

"Stupid little Device," the fake Nanoha snarled, giving the staff a good kick. "I wanted to play around with her a little more, but you had to spoil all the fun. Do you know how disgusting it is to change into a flat-chested, no-ass loli?"

"Who – are – you?" grunted Nanoha.

"Well, since the secret's out – " said the fake Nanoha.

An electric surge of red light discharged at the imposter's feet, traveled upward across her body, swiftly alternating the Homunculus's appearance. The Homunculus's true form – at least, Nanoha though that was its true form – was pale-skinned androgynous teenager with long, wispy black hair dressed in skin-tight clothing. The shape shifting Homunculus grinned devilishly, its face even uglier than when it had taken Nanoha's form.

"They call me Envy the Jealous," said the Homunculus. "Though I'm not particularly fond of that nickname."

"Envy," muttered Nanoha. Suddenly, she remembered the morning after she had first met Schach, during the journey to Cranagan. "You're that Homunculus from the news, the one that the TSAB has been chasing. But…how did you get into St. Hilde?"

"How did I – ?" said Envy laughing coldly under its breath. "You dumbass, I've always been here, following you ever since we first met in Cranagan." Nanoha's dumbfounded expression only made it laugh harder. "Oh God, you don't get it, do you? You don't think this was the first time I tried stealing the Panacea, do you? No, my first attempt was back at Cranagan where I disguised myself as the man you thought was Jellal Fernandes. I figured that if I were to get caught, I would hide myself as someone with great respect. I changed into a Mariage when I reached Reichtum, but when I had found the vault, it had already been emptied out. There was only one other place I could think that would be guarding the Panacea: St. Hilde."

"So you've been pretending to be Jellal the entire time?" said Nanoha.

"Not the whole time," said Envy. "The Jellal who's been teaching you is the real deal. I must have had to change my beautiful body over a hundred times to sneak into this school and all of them were disgusting: the _Arthra _flight attendant, a couple of third years, that pedophile gamekeeper and her little twits, even a stupid Fay on occasions. But every time, Fernandes came close to discovering me and I had to change into something different. That's the reason why that bitch Carim hired him, you know – she somehow knew I was here"

"Carim-Sama hired Jellal to keep you away from the Panacea?" said Nanoha in amazement.

"He certainly has an annoying trait for seeing through my deception," growled Envy. "I knew I wouldn't be able to walk freely as long as Jellal was looking for me, so I needed some way of distracting him while I snuck into the church. That's why I replaced that Material Cyclops in the Riot Force match."

"Wait, you were the one who cursed me?" said Nanoha. "But I thought Presea was trying to kill me."

"No, no, no, _I _tried to kill you. And it would have worked, too, if your friend Yagami hadn't conjured that blizzard in the stands while I was nearby. Her spell distracted me and broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I would've snapped your spine in two. I would have managed it before then if Presea hadn't been muttering her little countercurse, trying to save you."

"Presea was trying to _save _me?"

"Of course," said Envy coolly. "Why do you think she wanted to referee your next match? She was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really…she didn't need to bother with it. I couldn't do anything with Carim watching. All the other teachers thought Presea was trying to stop Kaiser from winning, she _did _make herself unpopular…and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Envy strengthened its hold on Nanoha's torso, slithering its bulbous fingers around her arms and legs like snakes, making a path for her throat. All this time, Nanoha wondered why everyone was trying to strangle her this year – at least try something different if you were going to kill her.

"You're too nosy to live, Takamachi. Scurrying around the school on Hollow's Eve like that, for all I knew, you had seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Panacea."

"_You _let the chimera in?"

"No, I didn't let in the chimera, I _was_ the chimera. What you had seen back then was my unleashed state – my true form. I had hoped that by changing into my monstrous state in the lower levels, I would be able to fool Fernandes and trick everyone away from the Panacea. But Presea wasn't fooled; she went straight to the sixth floor to cut me off – and not only did that Cerberus fail to rip her leg off properly, her little brat managed to cut my head off! Do you know how much that f-ing hurt? I had to retreat to the forest and steal Linker Cores from those beasts to get my strength back!

"But I don't have time to tell you my life story, Takamachi. I need to examine this annoying orb."

It was only then that Nanoha realized what was standing behind Envy. It was the Hōgyoku."

"This orb is the key to finding the Panacea," Envy murmured, tapping the outer surface of the glowing jewel. "Trust Carim to come up with something like this…but she's in Cranagan…I'll be far away by the time she gets back…"

All Nanoha could think of doing was to keep Envy talking and stop it from concentrating on the Hōgyoku.

"I saw Jellal and Presea talking in the forest – " she blurted out.

"Yes," said Envy idly, walking around the pedestal for a better angle. "After I nearly killed her daughter, Presea wanted to make sure that Jellal was doing his job properly and even tried to see how far I had gotten to the Panacea. She was starting to suspect my identity after my corpse went missing from her laboratory. They thought they could defeat me together – as if anyone could, when I had Stern the Destructor on my side…" It stopped in front of the pedestal again, staring hungrily at the orb. "I see the Panacea…I'm presenting it to my master…but where is it?"

Nanoha struggled against the slimy tentacles that were Envy's fingers, but they didn't give. She _had _to keep Envy from giving its whole attention to the Hōgyoku.

"But Presea always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, she does," said Envy casually, "but it's not entirely your fault. She was at St. Hilde with your parents, didn't you know? Presea absolutely loathed them. Your father's friends always bullied her in school, but she seemed to hate your mother most of all. Never really understood it myself, didn't really care. I was just ordered to infiltrate the school and steal the Panacea. But…after my few failures…my master was not so forgiving."

"Wait, you mean you met Stern?" Nanoha gasped. "Is she still in the school?"

"She is with me wherever I go," said Envy quietly. "I met her twenty years ago after she used powerful Dark Magic to reconstruct the Philosopher's Stone that I had destroyed inside myself. She wasn't particularly interested in the Stone at the time, she just wanted a useful minion. We both shared the same ideals: that there is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it. I was weak to kill myself so stupidly all those centuries ago – Stern showed me the error of my ways and I have served her loyally ever since." Envy shivered suddenly. "But she does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the Panacea from Reichtum, she was most displeased. She punished me…decided she would keep a close eye on me…"

Envy took a deep breath and cursed loudly at the Hōgyoku.

"I don't understand…is the Panacea _inside _this stupid orb? Should I break it?

Nanoha's mind was racing.

_What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, _she thought, _is to find the Panacea before Envy does. So if I look in the Hōgyoku, I should see myself finding it – which means I'll see where it's hidden. But how can I look without Envy realizing what I'm up to?_

She once again struggled against Envy's hold, happily noting that the Homunculus had loosened its grip in its distraction. Hoping that Envy wouldn't notice, Nanoha slowly moved around until she finally managed to free her left arm from the snake-like tendrils. She looked back at Envy – it hadn't noticed her. It was still talking to itself.

"What does this thing do? How does it work? Tell me what to do, master!"

And to Nanoha's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Envy itself.

"Use the girl…Use the girl…"

"Yes – Takamachi – of course."

Nanoha let out a sharp yelp as Envy pulled her closer to the Hōgyoku, dropping her hard on the ground next to the pedestal. The deranged Homunculus grappled her forearm, squeezing it tightly as if ready to snap it off if she tried anything funny.

"One chance, Takamachi," said Envy. "Look into that thing and tell me what you see."

"_I have to lie,_" Nanoha thought desperately. "_I have to look and like about what I see, that's all._"

Envy pushed her forward, moving close behind the little mage. Nanoha could smell fresh blood rolling off of Envy in waves, which could only serve to dampen her perception. She closed her eyes, stepped in front of the Hōgyoku, and opened them. Nanoha was still in the underground chamber with Envy and she was staring at the Hōgyoku normally, only there was something unusual about the orb. Instead of its bluish-purple glow, the Hōgyoku was dark-red like the color of blood. It took a few moments for her brain to work everything out. The Hōgyoku wasn't the key to finding the Panacea – it _was _the Panacea!

"Well?" said Envy impatiently. "What do you see?"

"I – I see myself shaking hands with Carim-Sama," Nanoha intended. "I-I've won the house cup for Kaiser."

Envy screamed furiously. It punched Nanoha off to the side and delivered a swift kick at the podium base, crumbling the stone pedestal effortlessly. The Blood of Panacea rolled its way to Nanoha's feet. She looked back at Envy, who had its back turn to Nanoha, screaming in outrage. Nanoha slowly picked up the Panacea and pocketed it. She needed to grab Raising Heart and get out of there. But she had barely picked up her Device before a low voice spoke, through Envy's lips weren't moving.

"She lies…she lies…"

"Takamachi, come back here!" Envy yelled. "Tell me the truth! What did you see?"

"Let me speak to her…face-to-face…"

"Master, you're not strong enough!"

"I have enough strength…for this…"

Nanoha felt as if Hashirama-Sensei's Mokuton had rooted her to the spot. She couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, she watched as Envy's head was consumed in a fresh wave of red lightning. What was going on? The Homunculus finished its transformation and turned to Nanoha. The little mage could feel her blood running cold. There, attached to Envy's body, was a woman with short-brown hair and frigid, icy-blue eyes that could pierce her soul and freeze it with just a glance.

"Nanoha Takamachi…we meet again," it said in a low, chilling whisper. Nanoha tried to take a step backwards but her legs wouldn't' move. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor…I have form only when I can share another' body…only am I able to cling to life through this Homunculus's Stone…but it is not enough…never enough. What I need is something more powerful…something strong enough to restore me fully…and once I have the Panacea, I will be able to create a body of my own. Now…why don't you give me that Panacea in your pocket?"

So she knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Nanoha's legs. She stumbled backwards.

"Don't be a fool," snarled Stern. "Better save your own life and join me…or you will meet the same end as your family…they died begging for mercy…"

"LIAR!" Nanoha shouted suddenly.

"How touching…" Stern hissed. "I always value bravery…Yes, child, your father and brother were brave…I killed them first, and they put up a courageous fight…I killed your sister next…but your mother needn't have died…she was trying to protect you. Now give me the Panacea, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!"

"**Run, Master!**"

Nanoha didn't need to be told twice. She sprang toward the flame door, but Stern screamed "SEIZE HER!" and the next second, Envy flipped over her head and stomped in front of Nanoha to cut her off. The Homunculus, altercating to its standard appearance, kicked Nanoha in the stomach, sending her tumbling back until she managed to catch herself and jump back into a crouch. Envy cackled wickedly, dashing for the tiny mage with both hands shifted to three putrid-green claws on each. Nanoha gasped, blocking the first slash with Raising Heart's shaft and spinning the Device to ward off the second strike. Not to be detoured, Envy slapped its hand on the floor and used the momentum to land a solid kick on Nanoha's chest.

She coughed heavily, but otherwise felt fine. Envy snickered, crawling down on all fours before shifting its body into the shape of a large tiger, looking very hungry. As the Homunculus came charging, Nanoha grappled her Device tightly and pointed the head toward Envy-Tiger, conjuring her maximum of six pink spheres.

"**Axel shooter!**" she yelled.

Much faster and more precise than her regular shooting spells, Nanoha swiped Raising Heart across the air and commanded the spheres to fly. Envy was initially able to dodge each of the magical bullets by shifting between a snake, and dog, a rabbit, and finishing with a hawk, spearing through the air probably to peck out Nanoha's eye. But much to the Homunculus's surprise, the magical balls curved in mid-air, following the shape shifting monster across the chamber. Envy quickly glided to the ceiling, narrowly dodging two bullets, when she looked down on Nanoha, who was directing the sphere's with her finger like a conductor.

"So you upgraded your shooting spell," growled Envy. "If it wasn't so pathetic, I would congratulate you."

"Fire!" Nanoha commanded.

The magic bullets chased after Envy at full speed. There was no way it would be able to dodge all six of them at one and Envy seemed to understand this, stopping high above the chamber, shifting in a surge of red lightning. To Nanoha's shock, Envy had transformed into Fate. Though she mentally knew that Fate was somewhere safe, possibly with Hayate, she couldn't bring herself to hurt her best friend. Her spell dissolved only inches from the shape shifting Homunculus – Envy laughed coldly in Fate's normally soothing voice.

"That's what I love about you humans," said Envy-Fate. "You're all so gullible."

The next thing Nanoha could recall, she was being pounded into the ground by a large, sickly-green fist five times larger than natural size. She felt her whole body tingle when the Homunculus removed its enlarged hand, but felt worse when Envy repeatedly bashed her knuckles into Nanoha two…three…five…eight…twelve times. Nanoha was starting feel dizzy, two of her fingers bent in odd angles, and felt like her entire left arm was bleeding. Envy was as cold and merciless as it looked.

"Bah! I can't believe I wasted all that energy on a kid," scoffed Envy.

"Retrieve the Panacea…" said Stern.

"Whatever you say, master," Envy sighed irritably, walking over to the flattened student.

Though she didn't think she could move, Nanoha was aware of Envy standing over her, scrambling through the pockets of her Barrier Jacket. It was only a matter of time before Stern would have the Panacea and she would be back in power. Everything she had done, all the sacrifices her friends made, they would all be for nothing. She failed the, she failed everyone.

"**Master…Master, can you hear me?**"

"_Raising Hearts…are you…in my head?_"

"**Master, we can't give up hope now. Not when we're so close.**"

"_But what can I do? I'm too weak to fight her._"

"**You're not weak, Master. You are strong – stronger than you even realize. I know your limitations because I am a part of you as you are a part of me. You can defeat them…just as you have done before.**"

"_But how? How can I stop them? Tell me, Raising Heart."_

"**I have told you before:** **just believe in me as I believe in you and together, we can do anything you set your mind to."**

It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but for some reason, Nanoha's heart felt lighter.

"Got it!" Envy suddenly shouted, retrieving the Blood of Panacea from her pocket. "Huh, so that stupid orb was the Panacea after all. Leave it to Carim to come up with something as tricky as that."

"Hurry, before she gets back up again," Stern hissed urgently.

"You're worried about a little kid," Envy laughed, casually making its way to the flame door with the Panacea in hand. "She's only an eleven year old girl. What's the worst that can – "

Envy stiffened – the Panacea fumbling out of her hand and clattering on the floor. A surge of high pressure suddenly exploded in the chamber, not only shaking the pillars along the wall, but actually rattling most of the lower levels of the church, including Presea's laboratory. Envy dropped to its knees, clutching its throat as if an invisible hand had wrapped around it. The Homunculus hadn't felt this kind of pressure since…no, but that's not possible. Stern was already there and Carim was far away in Cranagan. So how could…?

Envy turned rigid, daring its head to turn ever so slowly back to the beaten little girl. Only Nanoha Takamachi wasn't beating, and right now, she didn't look very little. She was floating several feet above the floor, standing on a platform made from her own magic circle; Raising Heart already reshaped into its Shooting Modee with its Sakura wings exposed from the shaft. Unlike before when she used her internal energy to power the spell, Nanoha gathered all the loose magic particles in the atmosphere, clustering them all together into a large, pink ball the size of her head.

"**Safety Mode – Released!**" said Raising Heart. "**Atmospheric collection – Complete! Firing in 5…4…3…**"

"Move, you worthless pile of dirt!" shrieked Stern, but Envy couldn't obey – it was trapped under Nanoha's pressure.

"…**2…1…Divine Buster ready!**"

"**DIVINE BUSTER!**" Nanoha screamed.

The chamber was consumed in an explosion of pink light; Nanoha was blasted backwards by the recoil of her own attack. Envy, trapped and helpless, cried out in pure agony as the light consumed her body as ripped it apart molecule by molecule, shattering the Philosopher's Stone that lay dormant within its body. Stern's shrieks were mixed in with Envy's, but while the Homunculus's slowly faded, her cries were becoming more distant. Nanoha didn't think she was dead, but she had a good feeling Stern wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon.

When the light passed, Nanoha leaned back against one of the chamber pillars and slumped down to the ground, surveying the damage she had caused with that last attack. A huge crater was left in place of Envy, littered with tiny red shards she suspected were the Homunculus's Stone, most of the support structures were cracked or broken, and a gaping hole was left in the ceiling, shining down a few beams of moonlight.

"Wow…that was…that was something," panted Nanoha. She looked down at her hand where Raising Heart, in her standby form, was resting in her palm. The blast must have taken a lot out of her. "Thank you, Raising Heart."

"**And thank you, my master**," said Raising Heart.

She couldn't believe it. She had survived her second encounter with Stern the Destructor. Looks like she broke another world record. Nanoha laughed to herself, unable to believe what she had just did, when exhaustion finally caught up to her. She leaned against the pillar and finally allowed sleep to take her.

What she hadn't realized was that the moment she departed to her dream world, another figure appeared from beyond the wall of flames. The newcomer surveyed the destruction, eyes landing on Nanoha's tired form. Marching over to the young mage, the figure sighed exasperatedly, and pulled Nanoha safely into her arms.

"You certainly are a handful, Takamachi," said Presea.

* * *

Something blue was glimmering just above her. The Jewel Seed! She tried to catch it, but her arms were too heavy. She blinked. It wasn't the Jewel Seed at all. It was a pair of bright eyes. How strange. She blinked again. The smiling face of Carim Gracia swam into view above her.

"Good afternoon, Nanoha," said Carim

Nanoha stared at her. Then she remembered: "Ma'am! The Panacea! It was a Homunculus! It was after the Panacea for – "

"Calm yourself, dear girl, you are a little behind the times," said Carim. "Envy did not get the Panacea thanks to your timely intervention."

"Then who does? Ma'am, I – "

"Nanoha, please relax, or Doctor Chopper will have me thrown out."

Nanoha swallowed and looked around her. She realized she must be in the hospital wing. She was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to her was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Carim, beaming. "What happened down in the chamber between you and Envy is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole church knows. I believe your friends Miss Agito and Rein Yagami were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Doctor Chopper, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days. Miss Hayate Yagami and Miss Fate Testarossa will be most relieved you have come around, they have been extremely worried."

"Hayate-Chan is ok?" asked Nanoha, sounding very relieved.

"Yes…and no," said Carim sadly. "The process of Equivalent Exchange is not one many children her age are able to handle – she needed empty her entire Linker Core to survive the encounter. Unfortunately, in doing so, Miss Yagami has become paralyzed from the waist down."

"You mean…she can't walk?"

"Oh, she'll be able to walk again, certainly. But it will take many years of physical therapy before she will be able to move properly again. Not many can go through such a horrifying experience and not possess as many mental and emotional scars and she would physical."

"Then she's all right," said Nanoha, happy that her friend was still alive. "But ma'am, about the Panacea – "

"I see that you are not so easily distracted. Very well, the Panacea. As you will already understand, your Divine Buster – which was magnificent, by the way – has destroyed the Homunculus utterly and prevented the capture of the Panacea. I had only just arrived back in time to see that you were safe."

"So you got Fate-Chan's letter?"

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached Cranagan than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I had arrived just in time to see Presea-Sensei carry you to safety – "

"Presea saved me?"

"Presea-Sensei, Nanoha," said Carim. "I had feared that she might have been too late."

"She almost was, I don't know how I would have saved the Panacea if I – "

"Not the Panacea, child, you – the effort involved in using an unrestricted Divine Buster nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Panacea, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Nanoha blankly. "But your friend – Edward Elric – "

"Oh, you know about Edward?" said Carim, sounding quite delighted. "You _did_ do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Edward, Kisuke, and I have had a little chat, and we all agreed it was for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Carim smiled at the look of amazement on Nanoha's face.

To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Edward and Winry, it really is like going to bed after a very, _very _long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Panacea was really not such a wonderful thing. As much power and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Nanoha lay there, lost for words. Carim hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Ma'am?" said Nanoha. "I've been thinking…ma'am – even if the Panacea is gone, Ste –, I mean, the Dark Qu – "

"Call her Stern, Nanoha. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, ma'am. Well, Stern is going to try other ways of coming back, isn't she? I mean, I don't think I killed her down there."

"No, Nanoha, she is indeed still alive. She is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share…not being truly alive, she cannot be killed. She left Envy to die just before your attack; she shows just as little mercy to her followers as her enemies. Nevertheless, Nanoha, while you may only have delayed her return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if she is delayed again, and again, why, she may never return to power."

Nanoha nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made her head hurt. "Then she said, "Ma'am, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me…things I want to know the truth about…"

"The truth." Carim sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you will forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well…Stern said that she only killed my mother because she tried to stop her from killing me. But why would she want to kill me in the first place?"

Carim sighed very deeply this time.

"The first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day…put it from your mind for now, Nanoha. When you are older…I know you hate to hear this…when you are ready, you will know."

And Nanoha knew it would be no good to argue.

"But how come Stern couldn't kill me the first time? Why do I only have this scar?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Stern cannot understand, it is love. She didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you would leave its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will leave behind a powerful spell that even I cannot begin to fathom. A spell that exists to this day, living inside you. Stern, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, could not touch you for this reason."

Carim now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Nanoha time to dry her eyes on the sheet. When she found her voice again, Nanoha said, "And the Black Coats – do you know who sent them to me?"

"Ah – your father wanted to pass them down to his children before he died. Since he was unable to do it himself, I felt it was my responsibility to fulfill his wish." Carim's eyes twinkled. "Useful things…your father used them maily for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"And there's something else…"

"Fire away."

"Envy said Presea – I mean, Presea-Sensei – hates me because she hated my parents. Is that true?"

"Well, Shiro's friends did rather detest Presea-Sensei and he did nothing to stop them, so he is as much involved as anyone. Momoko and Presea-Sensei were rather antagonistic during their later years. Not unlike yourself and Miss Eberwein. And then, your father did something Presea could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved her life."

"_What?_"

"Yes…" said Carim dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Presea-Sensei couldn't bear being in your father's debt…I do believe she worked so hard to protect you this year because she felt that would make her and your father even. Then she could go back to hating your parent's memory in peace…"

Nanoha tried to understand this but it made her head pound, so she stopped.

"And ma'am, there's one more thing…"

"Just the one?"

"How did the Hōgyoku change into the Panacea?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of Kisuke's more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find _the Panacea – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they would see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. That man surprises me sometimes…now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Miss Goldenweek's Palette Pellets! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across one that turned me plaid for a week, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them – but I think I'll have this little red one to be safe."

She smiled and popped the cherry-red pellet into her mouth. Then her sunny-golden hair turned into a rainbow afro.

"Well, that's interesting."

* * *

Doctor Chopper, the only reindeer in the world with a medical license, was nice, but very strict.

"Just five minutes," Nanoha pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Carim-Sama in…"

"Well, of course, that was the headmistress, quite different. You need _rest_.

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Doctor Chopper…"

"Oh, fine," he said. "But five minutes _only_."

And he let Hayate inside, being carted in a wheelchair by Fate. Nanoha tried very hard not to look at Hayate's legs, which were a stony shade of grey like something out of a zombie movie. Luckily, she was distracted by Fate, who had flung her arms around Nanoha in a joyous embrace. Nanoha was becoming increasingly aware of the heat building on her face and she was sure it wasn't because of the fever.

"Nanoha, we were sure you were going to – Carim-Sama was so worried – "

"The whole school is talking about it," said Hayate. "What _really _happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more stranger and exciting than the wild rumors. Nanoha told them everything: Envy the shape shifting Homunculus; the Hōgyoku; the Blood of Panacea; and Stern the Destructor. Fate and Hayate were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Nanoha told them how Stern appeared, Hayate nearly fell out of her wheelchair.

"So the Panacea is gone?" said Hayate finally. "Edward's just going to _die_?"

"That's what I said, but Carim-Sama thinks that – what was it? – 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure'."

"I always said she was a little nuts," said Hayate, looking quite impressed at how crazy her hero was.

"So what happened to you two?"

"Well, I got back all right," said Fate. "I found Hayate crippled on the floor – it took a while to carry her – and we were running up to the Fay Tower to contact Carim-Sama when we met mother in the entrance hall – she already knew – how could she not with the castle shaking? She just said, 'Takamachi's gone after it, hasn't she?' and hurtled off to the sixth floor."

"Do you think Carim-Sama meant for you to do it?" said Hayate. "Sending you your father's Black Coats and everything.

"_Well,_" Fate exploded, "if she did – I mean to say – that's terrible – you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Nanoha thoughtfully. "She's a funny person, Carim-Sama. I think she sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think she knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I think she had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, she taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident she let me find out how the Hōgyoku worked. It's almost like she thought I had the right to face Stern if I could…"

"Yeah, Carim-Sama's nuts all right," said Hayate proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Material won, of course – you missed the last Riot Force match, we were steamrolled by Hegemon without you – but the food will be good."

At that moment, Doctor Chopper bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," he said firmly.

* * *

After a good night's sleep, Nanoha felt nearly back to normal.

"I want to go to the feast," she told Doctor Chopper as he straightened her many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"

"Carim-Sama says you are to be allowed to go," he said sniffily, as though in his opinion Carim didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."

"Oh, good," said Nanoha. "Who is it?"

Schach sidled through the door as she spoke. She sat down next to Nanoha, took one look at her, and burst into tears.

"It's – all – my – fault!" she sobbed, her face in her hands. "I told that evil monster how to get past Fifi! I told it! It was the only thing it didn't know, and I told it! You could have died! All for a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be thrown out and forced to live as a Machlos!"

"Schach!" said Nanoha, shocked to see Schach shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down her face. "Schach, it would have found out somehow, this is Stern we're talking about, she would have found out even if you hadn't told her."

"You could have died!" sobbed Schach. "And don't say that name!"

"STERN THE DESTRUCTOR!" Nanoha bellowed, and Schach was so stunned, she stopped crying. "I've met her and I'm calling her by her name. Please cheer up, Schach, we save the Panacea, it's gone, she can't use it. Have a Chocolate Device, I've got a ton…"

Schach wiped her nose on her sleeve and said, "That reminds me. I've got you a present. Carim-Sama gave me the day off yesterday to fix it. Of course, she should have fired me instead – anyway, got you this…"

It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Nanoha opened it curiously. It was full of photographs. Smiling at her from every page were pictures of her mother, father, brother and sister. Last one she stopped on was a picture of Nanoha when she was only a year old, nestled in the arms of her mother with her father next to her, patting his son proudly at his son in his new Barrier Jacket; Miyuki glaring jealously at her brother.

"Sent letter off to all of your families friends, asking for photos…knew you didn't have any…do you like it?"

Nanoha couldn't speak, but Schach understood.

* * *

Nanoha made her way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. She had been held up by Doctor Chopper's fussing about, insisting on giving her one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Material colors of black and gray to celebrate Material's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge holographic banner showing the Material gear covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Nanoha walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. She slipped into a seat at the end of the Kaiser table between Fate and Hayate and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at her. Wasn't just a few days ago when they were ignoring her – that would seem pretty good right now. Fortunately, Carim arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Carim said cheerfully. "And I must trouble with this woman's long speech before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were…you have the whole vacation to get them nice and empty before next year starts. Sadly, I deeply regret that our Tactical Combat Instructor will not be attending next year, having agreed only to teach this once."

"I am honored to have taught each and every one of you," said Jellal over the claps of the students.

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup need awarding, and the points stand as thus: In fourth place, Kaiser, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hades, with three hundred and fifty-two; Hegemon has four hundred and twenty-six and Material, four hundred and eighty-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Material table. Nanoha could see Yuri Eberwein banging her cup on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes, well done, Material," said Carim. "However, recent events must be taken into account." The room went very still. The Materials' smiles faded a little. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. First – to Teana Lancaster…"

Teana stiffened as all eyes fell on her; she still wasn't used to this much attention.

"…for unwavering loyalty and true dedication to your comrades, I award Kaiser house forty points."

Teana buried her face in her arms; Nanoha strongly suspected that she had burst into tears. The Kaisers cheered loudly and quite a few of them patted Teana in congratulations. At last, there was silence.

"Second – to Miss Hayate Yagami…for braving great sacrifice in the face of danger to the sake of helping one's friends, I award Kaiser house forty points."

Kaiser cheers nearly raised the enchanted ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Signum could be heard telling the other prefects, "My sister, you know! My younger sister! She beat the Truth all on her own in the Transmutation Chamber!"

Third – to Miss Fate Testarossa…for the use of cool logic in the face of fire and the best duelist of her year, I award Kaiser house forty points."

Fate lowered her head to hide her blush, but everyone could see she was smiling. Kaisers up and down the table were beside themselves – they were a hundred and twenty points up. Shockingly, when Nanoha looked down the High Table, Presea was clapping, thinking no one had seen her.

"Fourth – to Miss Nanoha Takamachi…" said Carim. The room went deadly quiet. "…fore pure nerve, outstanding courage, and great potential beyond her years, I aware Kaiser house fifty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Kaiser now had four hundred and eighty-two points – exactly the same as Material. They had tied for the house cup – if only Carim had given Nanoha just one more point. Carim raised her hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Carim, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points…to Miss Subaru Nakajima."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Kaiser table. Nanoha, Fate, and Teana stood up to yell and cheer as Subaru, white with shock, disappeared under the pile of people hugging her. She had never won so much as a point for Kaiser before. Nanoha, still cheering, nudged Hayate on the shoulder and pointed at Yuri, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if she had been on the wrong end of Nanoha's Divine Buster.

"Which means," Carim called over the storm of applause, for even Hegemon and Hades were celebrating the downfall of Material, "we need a little change of decoration."

She clapped her hands. In an instant, the black and gray decorations transformed into a rainbow of colors; the huge Material gear vanished and was replaced by the Kaiser cross. Presea was shaking Linith-Sensei's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. She caught Nanoha's eye and Nanoha knew at once that despite all the good she had done, Presea's feelings toward her hadn't changed one bit. This didn't worry Nanoha. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at St. Hilde.

It was the best evening of Nanoha's life, better than winning at Riot Force, or Saint King's Day or blowing up a shape shifting Homunculus…she would never, ever forget tonight.

* * *

Nanoha had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, but she and Hayate passed with good marks, even in Scientific Research. Nanoha had a feeling that Presea was giving them one last helping hand, but they wouldn't be seeing it again next year. Fate, of course, was the number one student of the first years with Teana trailing at a close second. Even Subaru scraped through, her good Tactical Combat grades making up for her terrible Scientific Research ones. They had hoped that Kyrie, who looked in the mirror more than her books, might be thrown out, but she passed, too. It was a shame, but as Hayate said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their bags were packed, Subaru's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all the students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Agito Yagami sadly); Schach was there leading them down the path through the forest; they were boarding the _Arthra_; talking and laughing as they countryside became greener and tidier; eating Miss Goldenweek's Palette Pellets as they sped past cities; disabling their Barrier Jackets and changing to their normal attire; pulling into the hanger.

It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. Fate and Hayate would be returning home with their families while Nanoha had to meet a representative to transport her back to Earth, where she would be meeting the Henkens at Shibuya Station.

"You must come and stay during the holiday," said Hayate as Signum wheeled her over. "Both of you – I'll have Signum send you a Fay."

"No, you won't," said Signum.

"Thanks," said Nanoha, "I'll need something to look forward to."

"People jostled them as they moved around the hanger. Some of them called:

"Bye, Nanoha!"

"See ya, Testarossa!"

"Catch ya next year, Hayate-San!"

"Sweet, I'm famous!" said Hayate, grinning.

"Well, you're lucky," said Nanoha. "Where I'm going, I'm not particularly wanted."

"There you are!"

Without warning, a little redhead jumped through the crowd and kicked Nanoha in the shin. Nanoha was jumping up and down on one foot holding her leg while the little brat, who turned out to be Vita Yagami, laughed like she had achieved some great victory. Fate and the Yagamis stared at the spectacle, waiting for Shamal to settle everything down.

"Vita, that was very rude!"

"See, Shamal, I told you she was a wuss!"

"Be Quiet, Vita!" Shamal snapped; Vita complied. "I'm so sorry about that. She gets a little eager. So, busy year?"

"Very," said Nanoha. "Thanks for the fudge and the vest, Shamal."

"Oh, it was nothing."

"Ready, Miss Takamachi?"

She stared up at an old, wizened mage – he was probably the one taking her back to Earth. Asking for a few more minutes with her friends, the old mage nodded and told her to come find her when she was ready. She turned back to Fate and Hayate, hugging each of them good bye.

"See you guys next year, then."

"Hope you have a good holiday," said Fate.

"Oh, I will," said Nanoha, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over her face. "You and I know we're not supposed to use magic over the holidays, but _they _don't know about that, do they? I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with Kenta this year…"

**THE END…FOR NOW!**

* * *

**And that brings us to the conclusion of the first of eight in the Nanoha series. Next book, Nanoha will learn a dangerous new secret hidden in the shadows of St. Hilde's past and discover a dark truth hidden within herself. Is she truly the pure savior that the world has viewed her, or is she simple…a White Devil? Find out next time in Nanoha and the Tomb of Shadows.**

**Also, I had some ideas of my own original story that I am working on using some of my favorite anime. It's still in the making, so when it is ready, I hope you will support me as you have for this story.**

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